Starlit Sky
by ERJasandrea13
Summary: A heavily injured Titania loses consciousness beside a broken structure, a certain scarlet haired woman was indeed beyond surprised to see her in such state, and so she aided the fairy and stayed with her. With a face with such features similar to hers greeting her first thing she woke up, Erza Scarlet don't know whether to grab a sword or stay and appreciate the starlit sky.
1. I crimson river

**Hello! Welcome to my first fanfic, as you can see it's heavily about Erza Scarlet and Irene Belserion. I really do love the pair so here it is! I do apologize in advance for any typos and grammatical error and other stuffs. Characters maybe a little (okay hugely) OOC and the plotline and the story may be greatly different from the canon, here's what I tell you: My imagination, my world. Do please bear with my needy heart, I just want Erza and Irene to have angst scenes. Some chapters will be short, but some will be longer. I do not own Fairy Tail. Enjoy! R &R!**

The ground beneath her trembled but she paid no mind. Her vision is blurry and she thinks she'll throw up any second now. Erza wiped the trickling blood away from her brows and examines her surroundings. "Now where am I?"

Her vivid memory only contains of pushing Gray out of the way and attacking the soldiers who tried to kill him. Then they ventured towards west, or was it north? She can't remember because of her injuries.

"I overdid myself." Erza winced as her leg nearly gave up, "Again."

Judging by the sun's position, she suspected it must be about early afternoon. Her vision started to spin and she felt lightheaded, _'Not now.._ ' she thought.

She looked down and saw her right leg and arms need great attention, Erza cut off long pieces from her battered and bloodied sleeves and tried to prevent more blood to gush from her wounds.

 _"Erza, don't overexert yourself." Gray said after drinking from a water container._

 _The said woman didn't answered, but Gray continued walking, knowing what the woman is thinking of._

 _"It's best if we find Wendy faster," Gray passed her a loaf of bread, "you were already badly injured, so we need her help."_

 _Erza finished the bread and looked at Gray, "What should our moves be? Wendy must be with Chelia, but I think I remembered Lamia Scale in a battle with the army. I don't think it's wise for us to risk it."_

 _The ice mage stopped, he looked at her rather surprised. "I know we can defeat the army there, what's gotten into you? The Erza Scarlet, not willing to risk it because of impending attacks?"_

 _Staring right in the eyes of her comrade, Erza struggled to explain. "I.. really have no idea. Something just tells me it's a bad idea and- I just feel like something's going to happen whether we come there or not."_

 _Gray continued to look at her for a couple of seconds, and then smiled. "Okay. I trust your instinct, Erza."_

 _The pair continued to venture around, trying to find other of their comrades. They succeeded, finding Cana, Reedus and several Sabertooth members. The scarlet haired woman was slightly disappointed that she didn't saw the Twin Dragon along with Minerva and Yukino._

 _In the end, though, they did managed to run into a fleet of soldiers who indeed pissed them off. There was a strange light coming from the sky though, and before she could warn everybody, the light dropped meters away from her and sent her crashing somewhere._

As soon as she remembered what happened, Erza felt her head aching so much and before she knew it, the fairy dropped to her feet and darkness overcome her.


	2. II pretty flowers

**Chapter two of this series. This one is about Irene, and members of her squad is here too.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail. Enjoy! R &R!**

Irene Belserion is many, many things. One thing is for sure though, she likes pushing the buttons of the oh so mighty "Magic King".

"Irene, what are you playing this time?" A deep sigh was heard from the cloud beside her.

"Certainly not a game," Irene rests her cheek on her left hand, "just a lesson I wanted to teach these pathetic beings."

The "pathetic beings" the high enchanter is talking about, are the wizards experiencing different types of pain in the forest she's in.

"And what did these.. ah, 'pathetic beings' did to deserve their lesson?" The voice on the other line curiously asked. Albeit, she ignored him.

Irene's gaze turned deadly when she saw a wizard in yellow robes dropped on his knees and begged her to stop. The man was having a hard time speaking due to the enchanted and deadly mycelium on the back of his throat, slowly choking him.

"I think it might be too late for that," the red head said, and fingered her lips, "seeing your disgusting friends here have tried to attack these precious, innocent, young ladies." With every word she emphasized, the pain increased for all.

The man on the other line's eyes softened as he heard Irene, the woman may seem heartless but she's genuinely protective of her underlings. Nobody ever survived a torture from a protective Irene Belserion, and the Spriggan 12 knew that a situation will be far worse than death if you have triggered the enchanter's wrath.

Heine Lunasea and Juliet Sun are standing beside their leader, who is sitting on a throne-like branches. The latter continued on gazing toward every suffering person. Satisfied, she turned to the magic-conjured cloud and said, "What is it do you want from me, have you all missed me so much already oh dear August?"

August narrowed his eyes on her slightly, "You left too early, you know we are at war Irene. It is not wise to do such thing, seeing you are a Spriggan 12."

Irene mockingly pouted, "You think I do not know that? Why, I am hurt with your words!" While Heine smirked at the writhing wizards, Juliet giggled at her leader's words. The latter patted her head and smiled.

August knew where this is heading, another plan of his equal colleague to annoy him. Having sensed his realization, Irene let out a _'Hmph!'_ and tried to do childish antics that will annoy him. Knowing that the woman will not give up, August's eyes twitched at her and it must've been what she wanted because she smirked and stood up.

"I will be back in a few hours, do please inform His Majesty." And before the man could reply, Irene flicked her wrist and dispatched the cloud he summoned.

Heine and Juliet, having sensed that she wanted to depart soon, tidied themselves up. Their leader unconsciously smiled at their action.

"Dears, let us go." That being said, the underlings followed behind their leader who had stood from her throne with such grace. However, as they continued walking the wizards dropped dead one-by-one and the two shared a knowing look with each other.

"Ah! Your magic is really cool, Lady Irene!" Juliet giggles while looking at their leader.

"Imbecile!" Her partner exclaimed, "Her magic is not just cool, it is overwhelmingly powerful!"

Irene's lips curled at the bickering of the two.

"The wizards should've known better than to try and from steal the squad _of_ Lady Irene!" Juliet crossed her arms and scoffed.

"They should've known better than to provoke the Lady Eileen." Heine glared at the sky.

The two didn't even acknowledged that it was all because the wizards tried to steal and then attack them that caused the scarlet haired woman to end their lives. All their thoughts proved that they are extremely loyal to their leader.

As soon as they left the forest, it was immediately engulfed with fire. No doubt caused by the enchantment of Irene. The trio continued walking and they found themselves in the middle of a plain.

They were about to continue when Irene suddenly felt something. She gasped when she recognized it.

"This sensation.."

Irene looked around carefully.

"She's somewhere here."


	3. III lone flower in the field

**Hello! I will be away this week, but I'll try if I can publish a chapter or two! I hope you guys enjoy this story, because I do, heh. Oh, and by the way, I apologize if this chapter (and the other chapters) seems to have too little spaces between them, I'm still getting used to the format here. Enjoy! R &R!**

The cool breeze blew on the unconscious figure's face, as if sensing the shivers the person did, the cool breeze passing by became warm.

But of course, the breeze can't sense a person's discomfort or anything like that. In fact, it was all because of the seemingly frozen figure standing a couple of miles away from her.

 _"This sensation.."_

 _Irene looked around carefully._

 _"She's somewhere here."_

 _Heine looks at their leader in surprise, "'She'? Who is this person you are talking about, Lady Eileen?" Juliet also nods in confusion._

 _Immediately, the high enchanter summons a giant eye up in the sky. The two recognized it as the Eye Magic of their leader, what they wanted to know is what bothered her._

 _Irene's real eyes, the pupils of which are turned into cross-shape like that of the one in the sky, widened as she saw a certain figure with the same scarlet hair like hers in the distance._

 _"Come! We must get to her as quickly as possible!" The racing of her heart didn't helped her as the apparent panic on her face displays itself._

 _"Lady Eileen.." Both the underlings shows great concern for their leader._

 _Irene then enchanted the two,which gave them the ability to fly, and immediately_ flew into the sky and located the woman she saw.

 _"It's true." She muttered to herself, not quite believing the sight she beheld. "But what happened to her..?"_

 _The powerful enchantress was truly speechless, she never thought she could see her ever again. She could feel the tears welling up on her eyes but she paid them no mind. She's beautiful, breathtaking. Even in that state, Irene finds her stunning._

 _The redhead lying on the ruins of a structure was none other than, her Erza._

"Lady Eileen.." The two nearly mewled to their leader, for they can feel the fear creeping on their chest as they take in the sight of the enchanter.

Heine, having sensed that this person is quite significant, noticed her state and nudged her partner.

They shared a look and Juliet spoke up, "Lady Eileen.. She's quite... badly injured. I think Heine and I would help her. If that's okay to you?"

Irene broke from her trance and indeed noticed the pool of blood she's laying, which sent the unfamiliar feeling of fear to her stomach, nearly all ran to the mentioned mage.

Heine and Juliet stared awkwardly, then decided that they should build a shelter of sort for the unknown woman. And so the two left, leaving both the scarlet haired women.

"Erza," Irene whispered, caressing her cheek. "I never thought I'd ever see you again."

The latter then healed her injuries, starting with the deep wounds and then to the cuts. Her fists curled into balls as she thought of who might have done this to Erza. There was a thought that stand out, though, but she didn't acknowledged it fearing that it might be true.

She then carried her body and placed her down inside the tent her 'children' made.

She looked at them expectantly and mentioned for them to sat with her.

"Heine, Juliet. You may seem confused and I apologize for making you two concerned earlier. This is Erza Bel-" the enchantress stopped for a moment, to think if she still goes by the surname. "You shall address and treat her like you do with me, and protect her at any cost. I want you two to welcome her when she regains consciousness."

The two nodded, but then asked in sync.

"May I call her Lady Erza?" "May I call her Erza-sama?"

The former being Heine's and the latter being Juliet's.

And then Irene smiled a little, "You may do so, dears."

The two continued to wonder who may this Erza be, but they know in their hearts that she's related to their Lady. With those striking resemblance, anybody could mistook her for being the enchantress'-

With a gasp, they looked into each other, like a whole individual, then to the person laying on the blanket and then to their leader.

Their leader who in returned look at them with a knowing glint on her eyes.


	4. IV pitch black turned to something else

**The promised chapter is here! Your reviews keep me on going guys, thank you! If you're wondering how long this series will go on, I'll say for about 15-20+ chapters. Since there's not much of Irene and Erza stories around here that has many chapters , a dedicated fan got to do what needs to be done** **. Anyways guys, hope you enjoy this chapter :) R &R! **

She finds it hard to grasp to reality.

She feels her eyes rolling to the back of her head but she tries her best to stay focused. She tried to ask for help or anything, but her mouth just seems to babble incoherent sounds and she feels so damn frustrated.

There was suddenly something she felt that must've came near her because the feeling delivered something awful right up to her chest, she let out a small whimper because of it. She wanted to shoo it away but her whole body aches so, so much. She's feeling lightheaded, maybe it was because of the wetness she feel like she's laying on.

She wanted to open her eyes so much, regain consciousness and- but oh, she feels so sleepy and exhausted at the same time. She can't fight it, and so she rests.

* * *

 _It was a very dangerous situation. Thousands of demons and different kinds of mutations suddenly appeared out of a portal all around the kingdom of Fiore. The army was fighting too along with hundreds of wizard guilds. Fairy Tail got split up into pairs and groups._

 _"Erza-san!" Wendy screams behind her, "Your state will worsen if you continue and try to defeat that demon!"_

 _Erza winces as she holds her katana, both of her hands are bleeding furiously but she can't afford to stop. "I have to. Until somebody comes and take you and Carla to safety."_

 _Wendy wipes the gushing blood away from her chin, "Rest for a while and let me fight! Please, Erza-san!"_

 _The requip mage grits her teeth, "Wendy.. We're both already badly injured because we already took down about hundred of S-Class demons, and if I lose my life here then so be it." She then jumps up and stab the humongous demon's abdomen, "I will gladly give my life for your future along with Carla's"_

 _It's true. Wendy's dress is already bloodied, cuts and wounds were all over her body and some of her skin is burned. Erza is covered in stab wounds and she's already limping. Besides, their magic power was running low. The sky dragon slayer's eyes welled up in tears then shook her head._

 _"No! You're my nakama, and I won't let you do it!" The bluenette wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist, "Please. This time let us be the one to protect you."_

 _Erza tilted her head to the side and looked at the younger mage, she then sighed and nodded. "I'll back you up after I recovered enough magic power."_

 _Wendy smiled at Erza, "Thank you Erza-san. Now treat your wounds!"_

 _The redhead shook her head and smiled for a bit at her nakama, "You'll own that demon up. Carla, you know what to do."_

 _The exceed grinned, "No need to tell me Erza-san."_

 _And so the two went off and attacked the demon, leaving the armored mage to heal._

 _In the end, they all defeated the enemies and met up at the center at the Crocus. Fairy Tail, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, and the others met with each other and were invited at the feast the King hosted. Some would think it was an overkill, but seeing the damage the monsters did, it was completely discarded. It was also saddening to know that some guilds lost a member or two in the fight._

 _She never once tried to go up to a battle without trying to rest even for a moment when she saw Wendy nearly getting torn by the demon._

* * *

There's something cool, like the cold sweet jelly Mira served for her sometime earlier months, that spread from the middle of her abdomen and then slowly envelopes her whole body. It feels nice. And before she can once again lose the ability to think, she remembers thinking it was like a teal blue jello that she experienced. Magic, it must be.

When she gathered enough energy to open her eyes, she was disappointed for she could only open her eyes- more specifically, eye since she can't lift her left one, slightly and she was angry that the energy she gathered got taken down by a speck of dust that managed to got itself on her eye.

There was another thing, too. Her discomfort immediately went away as she picked up a strong magic that, she suspected, created a shield around her so that nothing could disturb her rest. She should be weary and be panicking, for all she could know this person is taking her captive. But there's also this feeling she do not know what is that made her feel secure on it's presence. And so she rested once more.

When she found energy to move her body, she groggily opened her eyes and slowly scanned her surroundings. _'Where exactly am I..?'_ She thought, and then she realized something. Her injuries are gone!

With a quiet gasp, she slowly examined herself. She then concluded that it must be the magic she experienced earlier. From deep, large stab wounds to little cuts, gone. She can't even see a single bruise on her skin!

But then suddenly, she felt something... _obscenely_ powerful. A presence. She shivers at the feeling, but she thought it feels kind of familiar. She's so conflicted. She could've sworn she knew this magic.. She didn't bothered to think about it anymore because she felt something warm touching her on the shoulder.

That action made her sit up straight so fast that it surprised her visitor. But what made her gape and stare is how this person looks so much like her. The scarlet hair, the brown eyes, the nose, the lips.. Just who this might be?

She felt adrenaline coursing to her veins when she noticed it's already late dusk, she worried about her other guild mates and how are they doing in the war. Subconsciously, she traces the invisible pattern of their guild's insignia on her left arm- and she noticed her clothing is much cleaner and different from what she wore a couple of hours ago, somebody must've changed her clothes.

But of course, her thoughts immediately went back to the person beside her. The person.. Her eyes widened in a sudden realization. This magic power. It's a magic she's familiar with, for she already had experienced it.

"You..."

The woman smiled at her shakily for a bit,

"Yes, it is I."

And Erza Scarlet knew she have to stay here for a while.

 **Who said I was going to make them interact much in this chapter.**


	5. V savior in a scarlet suit

**Hello, how are you guys? Heh, anyways, here's another chapter! I'd like to greet my nee-san,** _ **Aika**_ **, who recently decided to read this** **story X) (actually i forced her to, ehem just kidding)** **Short chapter, but the future ones will be longer, I promise! Thank you for your lovely reviews! I hope you'd enjoy this week's chapter! R &R!**

 _"You..."_

 _The woman smiled at her shakily for a bit,_

 _"Yes, it is I."_

Irene Belserion and Erza Scarlet stares at one another. Their gazes hinted a bit of caution in their eyes, but Erza then clears her throat.

"I'd like to.. thank you for your compassion. And you are a magic user, are you not? I assumed you were the one who healed me."

Irene nodded, "I am. Although, I specialize in.. enchanting. Oh, and.. it was nothing. You were in a bad state, and I would've felt horrible for not helping a fellow mage."

The two awkwardly stared at the ground for painfully awkward moments.

Then, Erza chuckles. "This is, uh, quite awkward huh?"

Taken slightly aback, Irene chuckles a little, "It is."

The younger redhead then smiles and extends her hand. "I'm Erza, Erza Scarlet."

The other redhead, however, felt a pang on her chest. "Scarlet, huh?" She murmured, "Irene, Irene Belserion."

The two shook each other's hands.

"Miss Irene.. I was wondering, where are we right now?" Erza curiously asked.

"The exact location, I do not know. But I am certain we are somewhere in southeast." Irene answered while stroking her chin.

Erza's eyes widened, _'Southeast?! Where are Gray and the others? Most especially, where is our guild?'_

As if sensing the other person is deep in thoughts, Irene spoke. "Is there something troubling you, my dear?"

"Yes.. Um, it wouldn't exactly solve my dilemmas, but can you answer some questions, Miss Irene?"

The person in question smiled, "Of course, anything to help. Oh, but do drop the 'Miss', Irene will do fine."

"Alright. First, how.. powerful are you? You don't have to answer since it's just my curiosity. I picked up a very powerful magic power from you and, well, I was curious. Secondly, where did you came from? Surely, an 'enchantress' who has an extremely high magic power don't just appear out of nowhere and not be famous or anything. And lastly... Do you know anything of the war Fiore- or Ishgar, is in right now?"

Irene looks at her hands and answered, "I do not know how I would answer the first one, honestly. But I could be the same level of a Magic King, if there is one."

The hidden smirk kept itself as she laughs quietly.

"I came from a far away island, with little of people here in Ishgar. So that is why I am not famously known." Irene lied smoothly, "Oh, we are? I'm glad you have told me that. That way, I know I'll be able to protect my 'children' if there is harm. I would be willing to help you in this 'war', dear Erza."

Erza blushed, "I-I did not know you have children, I apologize for calling you-"

She was interrupted with Irene's soft laugh.

"No need to apologize. Besides, they're not really my children, I.. adopted them."

Erza cleared her throat, the blush disappearing slowly. "Oh, so, are they with you?"

"They were. I sent them to gather supplies." She then stood up and went to a small table, "I have hot milk and tea here, Juliet and Heine went to get food. What would you have?"

"The milk will do, I'm not fond of tea during this time of the day."

"Milk it is, then." With her back turned at her, Erza didn't saw Irene's face containing a soft smile.

After pouring the fresh milk to a glass, Irene turned around and brought the tray down to the makeshift bed.

"So Erza, tell me something about yourself." Irene tilted her head, with her hands crossed with each other under her chin, as she spoke.

Erza look down at the steam of her drink, "There's not much to tell about myself. I am a requip mage, though I could also change armor by doing so-"

Suddenly, like a bucket of cold water fell down to her, Erza let out a gasp.

"Erza?" Irene asked with concern all over her face.

"I-I-I, I can't-" her eyes are widened and her breathing is rapid, "M-My-"

Irene immediately went to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders, "Calm down, dear. Tell me what is it."

Erza whispered in disbelief, "My magic.. I can't feel it."

 **A/N: Whatta plot twist. But you'll be thanking it for a _little_ while ;) hueheh *sips on the stolen milk from Irene***


	6. VI fading bubbles

**I updated because I want to rant ab** **out the recent spoilers for 507, hence SPOILERS AHEAD PEOPLE! I'll give you 5 seconds and a line break to scroll down to the chapter. The only thing this A/N includes is the "Enjoy!" and "R &R!" because why not. (why don't I just update an A/N chapter if I'm this fussy? well i dont want to ruin the chapter counts thank you very much) ****Hope you'd enjoy this chapter, because I certainly did! R &R!**

 **As you scroll down the SPOILER ZONE, I apologize if you have read glimpses of swearing.**

* * *

 **SPOILER ZONE**

 **SPOILERS RANT (Warning, a lot lot lot lot of swearing because no way I'm not going to) reference: /fairy-tail-chapter-507-spoilers/**

 **Nope. No fucking way. I mean hey I already thought that Irene is Erza (or future self but it doesn't make sense bc if Irene wants Erza dead then she'll die too, it's nonsense) even before I saw the spoilers (and Irene as Erza's mother-sister too) but holy shit their meeting diSAPPOINTED THE FUCK OUT OF ME. My fucking goodness I love Irene and Erza so much that it disappointed me. But we gotta give Hiro Mashima credits for updating bc if we don't have him, FT manga won't continue. And I swear if(or actually, when *cries*) Irene will be killed of in this arc I'm gonna be silent for the rest of my chapters here. But** **whatever.**

 **"Irene shows up telling Erza it's been a while"**

 **THE FU CC K WA T**

 **Ugh and I swear if Jellal was the reason why Erza turned to Irene then I'm gonna be sorely disbelief (not that I loathe Jellal or smthing but um hello Makarov is more important to Erza -at least i think he was- than Jellal and Gramps died so? erza? should have? went out? bloodlust? rage already? like her ? two lovely idiots? did?) buuuuuuut then of course it's Fairy Tail we're talking about here. Hiro Mashima could pull of any sort of stuff that would make me feel bad about Jellal or wHATEEVR. There's so much questions, and I swear I will fucking rage if we won't get hella lot of Irene~Erza scenes. Oh, and dears? Canon doesn't have power here in the story, heh.**

 **What do you think happened that Erza Scarlet, fucking unbreakable ball of steel, changed? Review down below! But don't forget to add a Spoiler Warning to the others!**

 **But then it begs the question,**

 **What if Irene was bluffing** **? ;))))) we all know Silver and about his bluffing. So,,,,**

 **UNPROFESSIONAL WRITING UP IN THE SPOILERS BREAK**

* * *

 **I WILL REGRET WRITING THIS IN THE NEXT HOURS**

 **BUT OH WELL**

* * *

 **HEY ARE THESE LINE BREAKS ENOUGH?**

 **SPOILERS-FREE ZONE**

* * *

 _Erza whisper_ _ed in disbelief, "My magic.. I can't feel it."_

The high enchanter gasped, her brows furrowed, she spoke, "Whatever do you mean? I can sense magic in you."

"I don't know- I tried to requip, and I just can't do it."

"Is that so? That is rather peculiar. Tell me, what do you think could've made you unable to access magic?"

The requip mage furrowed her brows in concentration, "I don't remember anything that could've done this to me.." Searching through her recent memories, she failed to do so since she can't recall anything strange.

Irene then spoke, "I believe there are potions, spells, curses, chemicals, and even magic that can make a person unable to do magic. Some actually adds such materials in weapons or items so they could 'unarm' their opponent in a battle. Another thing, for permanent magic-free life, you have to cast your Third Origin- which, dear, you could only do so if you have a castor who has the lost magic of the Arc of Time, if I am not mistaken. Which I doubt is the case since I can feel your magic."

Suddenly, as if a light bulb went out, Erza snapped her fingers. "I was in a battle earlier, we ran into the army. I saw a strange light coming down from the sky and I was hit by that, I think it's the reason why!"

"Strange light? Coming from the sky.." Irene pondered, "It must be a bomb of some sorts. And it must be mixed with certain chemicals."

"But then, why am I still magic-less? Estimatedly, I was out for five hours, shouldn't it have worn off already or something?"

"That is quite the question. As I recall, you were really badly injured when we found you at that ruins. And when I say badly, I mean it."

Erza don't know why but she feels bad about it. She plays with her fingers, and asks herself what is happening to her.

"Anyways, we're at Southeast, correct? If you were in a middle of a battle with an army, shouldn't it be close to where you were? And I didn't saw wizards of sorts battling with army, and the closest wizards I could sense is within about 60 kilometers more or less. So how did you ended up here?"

Irene looked at Erza expectantly, when she figured she needs time to gather her thoughts, she stood up and left the tent.

Erza felt a pang of disappointment when she saw Irene left, but she then shook her head and focused on her thoughts. _'The bomb exploded a couple of miles away from me, but I think I'm the only one affected by it. I remembered Reedus behind me still using magic after I was sent flying across the land by that wretched thing._ ' She looked at her now lukewarm drink, _'And I walked for about ten kilometers when I woke up. And they might have moved after these hours, I really need to get back to them. Also, I recall Irene telling me she would help in the war, we'll certainly win.'_

With all the thoughts on her head, though, Erza decided fresh air would help her think. And so she get up and went outside.

The fresh air was rejuvenating. With the incredible sight before her, Erza almost forgot about the war. Almost.

There was also another thing, or more particularly, somebody.

At her left were two teenagers, couldn't be older than her. One looks particularly young and joyful, and the other is more serious. They looked at her with surprise and awe though.

"Jolly! You must be Lady Erza! Hello! I am Juliet Sun, under Lady Irene's squad!" The joyful one giggles.

"Greetings, Lady Erza. I am Heine Lunasea. Please forgive my partner's personality." The girl in the black said.

Erza found it cute though, "Hello Juliet and Heine. You two must be Irene's children, huh? It's a pleasure to meet you two."

"You could say that.." Heine's cheeks tinted a bit of pink at the thought of being her Lady's child.

"Oh! Lady Erza, we brought different kinds of foods! Here, Lady Irene instructed us to make sure you eat a bunch~!" Juliet grins while pointing to a fixed table behind her.

"Speaking of Irene, can you tell me where she is right now? I wanted to talk to her."

The two looked at each other, "Oh, Lady Irene just went to do an errand. She'll be back soon!"

She nodded, "I think I'll wait before eating, but could you two tell me something about Irene? I'm quite curious about her."

Juliet claps in excitement, "Oh! Lady Irene is very, very powerful! So powerful that she could enchant trillions of people into savage beings in just a moment~"

Heine answered timidly, "Despite others comparing her to despair, she actually is really kind."

Erza listened with pure interest, the way her eyes sparkled with the new informations the two provided for her is too cute, Irene would've melted if she saw it. However, if Erza would be the one who saw Irene's eyes right now, she would've been frozen with fear. But that would be impossible, right? She's Erza, after all~

* * *

Irene Belserion paraded down the hallway towards the Air Force headquarters. The soldiers and guards who saw her quickly scampered away, the guards who were guarding the door to the headquarter gulped down in fear as they accessed the entrance door.

She never stopped for anything, heading straight to the round navy blue meeting table. A Brigadier General saw her and immediately went to get the throne-like seat made just for her, her face don't express emotions but she sat down and leaned her cheek on her hand.

The high-ranked officers were talking in a loud angry manner with coffees in hand, their faces were drained of colors when they saw the very female general of the Spriggan 12 sitting on her chair, staring at them.

All immediately stiffened and stood as straight as their body could. Silence immediately descended upon the headquarter.

"Sit." Irene ordered, and all immediately went to their proper positions on the table.

"Greetings, General Belserion." The General of the Air Force spoke, in which all the other officers followed in suit.

"The Air Force dropped an anti-magic bomb in the South, precisely six hours ago." It was a statement, they were conflicted whether to take it as a terrible news, a praise, or just a mere statement.

"Yes Ma'am." All the officers answered.

"It was a single bomb."

"Yes Ma'am." The fear in their stomach intensified.

"It was a waste, nonsense. It didn't even affected at least three mages. Just. One."

"Yes Ma'am." Al though their voice were strong, apparent fear were on their faces.

"However, the affected one is a powerful one."

The officers all sighed in relief.

"I must know who the one in charge in the South. Come forward."

All of them looked at the Colonel, who stepped forward to face her.

"So you were the one in charge.." Irene looked at him in the eyes.

The Colonel stuttered, "Y-Yes Ma'am! I was the one who personally d-dropped the bomb! Pulling that lever was difficult for me, for it was the o-only bomb we ha-"

"Did I asked?" Irene looked at her sharpened faux nails.

He then took a sharp breath, "N-No Ma'am!"

Moments passed, everybody were holding their breath.

"Now, tell me, every air ships we have have their own advanced systems, don't they?"

"Almost as the vision range as an eagle, Ma'am!" The Major General provided.

Irene nodded. The Air Force group thought they were out of trouble when she gave them a formal smile, oh boy they thought wrong.

Almost immediately, the room's atmosphere turned cold. "Then why didn't you noticed the bomb was going to hit a scarlet haired woman?"

"It was a rookie mistake." The coldness in her voice made them paler every second. "And now you must suffer the consequence."

Irene crossed her legs and tapped her staff, " _Enchant: Wither_ ** _ウィザーズ_** "

And so, the Colonel dropped down and slowly withered to death.

Irene Belserion stood up from her seat and walked across the doorway, she then stopped and said, "Every scarlet haired person..."

And then she went out.

It was all the officers needed to hear as they remembered the very first thing the Spriggan taught them, that every scarlet haired person...

They all sat in silence, their coffees forgotten.

* * *

"-And so Lady Irene collected those exceed eggs, she took care of them and when she thought they're independent enough to survive on their own, she freed them." Heine finished her story and chewed on blueberries

Erza smiled softly, "She's really kind, isn't she? Even if people feared her terribly."

"Oh yes! Honestly though, she don't care what they think~" Juliet laughs.

"Oh do I not?"

They all jumped at the sudden voice behind them, the two underlings immediately stood up and payed their respect to their leader.

Irene smirks and joined Erza at the table, "How are you?"

"I am fine, I cleared my head a little while ago. Heine and Juliet kept me company, they told me stories about you." Erza blushed a bit, "I, uh, wanted to know things about you.."

The high enchanter's heart leaped with joy, "Really? You could've just asked me, dear Erza."

The mage tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Some other time.. Would you like to eat?"

"Of course. Dears, come join us."

Heine and Juliet sat in front of the two and started eating with them, it was a sight to behold. The usually cold and terrifying high enchanter was smiling with joy on her eyes.

"You know, Irene, anybody could mistake us as sisters or some sort." Erza confessed with a deep blush on her face.

"Is that so?" Irene chuckles.

Erza hummed, "Yes and... I feel warm that somebody like you took great care of me."

Irene closed her eyes and kissed Erza's forehead, "Of course dear. Always."


	7. VII forward, or sidewards?

**Hello! The titles for each of my chapters don't make sense, do they? Heh.**

 **Anyways, I'd just like to say that I'll only be able to publish about two or so chapters this week, for it's my examination week. So there's that :/**

 **I hope my Spoiler Zone from the last chapter entertained some of you, because honestly I was amused by my own writings. Advance apology for the typos or grammatical errors. Enjoy! R &R!**

Erza Scarlet groggily opened her eyes and stretched her arms, she moaned in delight at the sensation. It was quite dark for some reason, but she's sure it's already morning.

She stood up and flapped the doorway of the tent, then stopped and laughed while shaking her head, ' _Really Irene? You enchanted a shield around my tent just so I could have a good night rest?'_

She saw the other big tent beside her's still unopened, she figured the two were still asleep. She grabbed a stool from her tent and stared at the sun rays from the trees.

"I really need to get back to the others, they need me in the war." She looked at her hands, "But I still need my magic back. And I need to know where they are."

Spending her minutes in silence, she decided she could really use a bath. Or something like that. There was a small lake behind them, it would do.

As soon as she took a step out of the shield, she felt statics in the other tent, Irene's. Worried, she took a run for it and opened the tent. She saw an Irene waking up with caution evident on her eyes.

"Oh, you're up." The woman said.

"Oh, did I woke you up? I'm sorry." Erza took a step on her bed.

"I was awake, I think I fell asleep for a bit. You don't have to apologize, besides I was the one who made sure I was alerted if you were to leave your tent." She explained as she took a comb for her hair.

"You look nice with your hair down." Erza can't stop her growing smile.

"Oh hush." The two shared a laugh as they had a conversation.

The two were talking about Erza's situation when Heine and Juliet peeked inside the tent. The subordinates entered and sat with the two.

"Lady Irene, Lady Erza," Heine timidly greeted the two, "There is a nearby town here, it might be a good thing to go there."

"You're right, Heine. We'll leave after we pack our belongings." Irene said as she tied a ribbon on her second braid.

"Oh, Lady Irene! Can we help braiding your hair?" Juliet asked with enthusiasm.

When their leader nodded, Juliet jumps to braid her hair as Heine follows in short. Erza watches the three and smiled, it reminded her of Fairy Tail.

True to her words, Irene let them pack their belongings and they ventured towards their destination. It was a nice walk, both exercising their muscles and the opportunity of seeing the sights.

Finally, they arrived at the small town called Paccundol. Several people were there, walking with someone or buying things. The four went directly to an inn called Selear Tulks, Irene took three rooms and so they went inside their rooms. Their rooms were medium-sized and the bathroom and bed are to die for.

As Erza finished taking a well-deserved bath, she noticed it was already noon. She decided she'd like to take a look on the town, and so she went out and walked. It was a nice town, quiet but full of fun people. She also noticed a dessert shop (which made her mouth water as she saw a display of a strawberry cheesecake) and thought if the high enchanter and her children would like to accompany her, but then she felt like she might scarred them when they saw her eating habit (but frankly, she'd much rather eat her strawberry cheesecake than to worry about their opinions).

Satisfied with what she discovered on the town, she went back to the inn and asked for Heine and Juliet. Surprisingly, the two weren't there. She tried to knock on Irene's door, which got her an immediate answer to come in.

Irene was surprisingly wearing something other than her usual attire. Leather black pants, a top which is similar to her usual one made out of leather, a dark crimson cape with even darker feathers adorning on the ends of it, leather-tight boots, her velvet gloves looks like a second skin sticking on her, there was a cloth with a symbol on it but it was folded into something if one wouldn't want someone to see it. She was adorning a blood red lipstick, honestly if Erza didn't know better she would have thought Irene is a some kind of dark queen. The day really is full of surprises, she mused.

"Oh hello, are you.. going somewhere?" She then noticed something like a bubble suspending in the air.

"I'll be gone for a few hours, dear. But I'll try to get back as soon as possible." Irene gave her a small smile.

"Irene, Empe-" there was a male voice on the other line, but what he was going to say was interrupted by Irene.

"I know, General. I'll be there as soon as possible." Irene gave him a tight smile, as if daring him to say anything more.

In her vision, August was narrowing his brows at her. But then it was immediately replaced with a look of surprise when he noticed the other person in the room.

"Oh. Is that..?" He was uncertain what to call the young lady but nevertheless, Irene nodded.

August cleared his throat, "I suppose you have every right to stay there with her, and I know you are aware of your responsibilities as a royalty, so I can't do anything but to trust you to attend our meeting for today."

Irene smirked wickedly as his smooth lies, she mouthed that she's impressed by him, and the two bid farewell. She then faced Erza who was leaning on the wall, she mentioned her to come closer.

"Erza, I must go now. I have meetings to attend for today, I'm afraid you will be alone for a couple of hours since the two are busy with something. I hope you'll understand."

"Of course, Irene. But, you never mentioned anything about being a royalty," She tilted her head, "but anyways, while in your travels, I have a favor for you. Can you please find an antidote or some sorts for my current situation? I am worried sick for my guild mates."

Irene sighed, "And when you are cured, you're just going to leave me.."

The mage was surprised by what Irene said, "N-No! I won't. Besides, you told me you were going to help me in this war right? We won't be separated, at least.."

The high enchanter smiled bitterly, "I have to go. I'll try to find it, for your happiness. See you soon, dear Erza."

With that, the Spriggan stood up and left. Her cape flowing in the space of her room, leaving Erza conflicted with her actions.

 **/And that's how you guilt-trip someone, people.**


	8. VIII black, white, grey

**Hello! It seems like there were some confusions with Irene and August. In this story, both of them are the Generals of the Spriggan 12. Since they are the strongest individual on it, they lead their colleagues and those stuffs. August is the one usually the one being more like a "leader" since Irene loves annoying them by not showing up on meetings, (just kidding). Although August may be the one who usually leads them, he knows his "power" and "leadership" is as equal as the high enchanter. (And he knows it's better to shut up than to piss of a woman, especially if the said woman is Irene effing Belserion) Anywaaaaays, again I believe I'll only be able to publish about 2 chapters or so this week since it's our examination week. But I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter, thank you for the lovely reviews guys :D R &R! **

It is a an extremely difficult task to participate in a war. Especially if you're trying to protect a long-lost someone from knowing that you're a part of the group they're war with. But nothing's impossible for Irene Belserion.

The high enchanter kept her head high as she paraded down the current temporal headquarters of the Spriggan 12, as she enters the room, several deep dark chuckles were heard from the seated people.

"My, my. What a special occasion, are you really just going to finish them all up?" Her Emperor mused while staring at her chosen attire.

As she sat down, she smirked at him. "I can't help it, I'm feeling a bit more for despair than an angel today."

She looked around and noticed five seats were vacant.

"My, where are Larcade and Brandish? To think this was such an important meeting that I showed up~" She was feeling a bit more, evil, let's say, for today. She didn't know why, and it feels so good to be back on her old ways.

Neinhart tilted his head, "Oh, Lady Irene, I'm liking what's happening today."

The said woman just gave him a smirk and gestured the Emperor that he could start, feeling really confident in some ways. Nobody reprimanded her (for they are all afraid of her, except for August) but for the smirk and the look on the Emperor states that he likes what Irene is about right now.

"Anyways, let us start. As much as I love to end this war quickly, we aren't getting much fun from this, don't you agree dears?"

Several nodded their heads, while some vocally answered.

The meeting was all about their partakes and activities in the war, Irene wasn't doing much participation but she's all ears on the discussion.

"Now, I have received a very interesting news that a certain Air Force Colonel was killed, or more particularly, was enchanted to death." Zeref rose his brow at his female general, who started to finger her braid.

"He made a rookie mistake of firing an anti-magic bomb down. I would've been pleased if they got the brats powerless so it's much more fun, but he whined about having only one bomb. In fact, there was only one affected," Irene made the move to drink her tea, "a certain someone of my blood."

A chorus of gasps was heard throughout the room, even the dark wizard was surprised. The shields composed themselves immediately though.

"Someone of my general's blood, interesting. Tell me more about this person."

"Believe me, she have so much potentials. And since she's currently magic-less, she has to stay with me." The Emperor was puzzled on how timid her answer is, but he let it go, figuring there's an issue or so.

The meeting lasted for about half an hour, and the real fun was just starting as the Spriggans went out and went to their positions.

Standing above the Mt. Zonia, Irene studied the landscape below her. ' _Universe One really is an interesting magic_.' She thought. Irene spent a couple of minutes of her time playing with mages, enchanting them, turning them into parasites, then slowly harming them. She wouldn't kill them, of course, death isn't an immediate resolution for despair, is it~?

Oh, she wants them to feel despair. To feel their very last hope waning, them to feel desperate to take hold of the hope and for it to slip between their fingers.

Neinhart was stationed with her along with, surprisingly, Invel. The ice mage was idly summoning bunch of ice particles, clearly showing he's bored with the ongoing battle there in the North. Neinhart was long gone when he stated he wanted to play with the mermaids. She too is quite bored since she can't find a promising opponent. There's a mermaid that will do, but she's feeling generous for her colleague so she decided against it. She also noticed a certain tiger's magic power, it'll also do, but she'll wait until the territory mage's magic power went up once again. No fun on enchanting your opponent just because they're tired, doesn't it?

Summoning a giant eye in the sky, she looked for a certain town for a certain requip mage. Seeing she's in a library looking for a solution for her dilemma, Irene snarled and decided she needs to take out her frustration into someone.

Really, she's quite thankful Erza hasn't realized that she can also detach magic power from someone. She knew from the start that she could just basically detach the magic holding Erza from using her magic. But if she did, then Erza will be gone from her once again and realize that she's been with the 'enemy' the past days.

The scarlet haired girl was the only one who have kept her grounded for the past days. If she hadn't found her, Irene knew she'd let herself succumb into total darkness and let her rage control of her actions. It is both good and bad thing. The former's explanation is that it'll give her so much power (as if she needs any more power, she's not too greedy for power anyways) over the people in the war, especially over their opponents. The latter's to why is simple. Once wrath is felt on her veins, her strength is uncontrollable. She wouldn't want to cost more damage on her original homeland, does she?

Suddenly though, she felt a familiar magic returning to her. Her heart beat rapidly for a moment, and then the trees around her immediately withered. With a dark look, she flew until she landed behind a female take-over mage. So this is the pathetic brat who showed her dear children some affections, huh?

Irene Belserion dangerously smirked as she stared directly at the she-demon's terrified eyes, she didn't wore her crimson despair attire for nothing, did she?


	9. IX corrupting scarlet

**And we are back! Whoo, it was painful to not be able to update, but we're finally here again! I could've published a chapter yesterday but our school had an activity where we all stayed overnight. It was a tiring activity, but it was so filled with happiness. But anyways, there's no way I'm going to look at the 508 spoiler, for I might die (kidding), but whatever, I hope you'd enjoy this chapter! R &R!**

When Irene was nine, she had a best friend named Keira. They were both pretty girls, scarlet hair and strawberry blonde. Irene was a generous child, she showered Keira with kindness and little trinkets they both liked. Eventually, there came another person.

Keira and Irene were best friends since they were five, the feeling of the person you knew so long wanting to be with another person is quite terrible. But Irene is a generous child, and so she let them hang-out a few times. Few becomes frequent, and frequent becomes always. The person she knew for four years abandoned her just for someone new. That day, the thought of being overly kind to someone you knew will leave you once they got a new taste of something blossomed into her, and that started her nature.

Irene Belserion drums her gloved fingers on the edge of the cool table. She's no longer frustrated, thanks to the little help of that silver haired mage. She didn't get much time to thank her for the affection she gave to the two because August interrupted her, and finished the girl off. She can't feel a single care, though.

Now, she must formulate her plan to make sure Erza will never go back to the war and to her guild. She needs to stain their names to Erza, and the swords give her a bright idea.. It will be a difficult job for the apparent love and concern the younger redhead expressed for her guild, but she can do it.

Irene touched her bottom lip and pondered aloud, "If one would make sure something is ruined for someone, how would you do it if their bond is strong?"

"Then you just have to reopen the cracks." A voice nearly startled her, Emperor Zeref sat in front of her. "I was informed by Invel you left after having fun with a mage. Pray tell?"

"The girl who has my blood," Irene turned to him, "belongs to a guild who is participating in our war. I do not want her to leave me, I must have a plan to make sure she won't come back to them."

"Well there are many ways, Irene. You can enchant her so that she'll obey your orders, or enchant the guild or guild members so that she literally can't go to them." Zeref made sure to count by his fingers whenever he said a reason, "We can just kill them all and she'll be yours forever. But you know, the feeling of betrayal stings the most." He sent her a wink.

"I was actually planning the latter, Emperor. That way, she'll loathe the guild and stay with me forever."

The two continued to formulate the plan until they made sure it would strain their bond, little by little.

* * *

Back in the town, Erza noticed that the townspeople were... avoiding her. They were avoiding her gaze, as if something will happen if they do. Feeling confused, she went towards the park to talk to someone who will not avoid her. Luckily, there was an old man who was feeding the squirrels who did acknowledged her.

"May I sit here?" She asked, in which he nodded.

A moment passed with her trying to figure out what and how she will ask what is wrong, when the old man noticed her distress and spoke, "Young lady, you are an innocent being in the clutches of an evil maiden."

It startled her, "Excuse me?"

"The magic user with you, the one with the braids, there's something about her that frightens the Paccundols, we felt malice in her veins. You must be careful all the time."

Erza can't believe what he is saying, Irene is nothing but kind. This must just be the effect or vibe Irene has with people affecting them, she could recall people comparing her to despair just because they do not know her properly, like she do.

"No, Irene may be frightening but she's really kind."

"You must be close to her."

Erza looked down at the squirrels, "I guess so. She found me injured and helped me yesterday, her caring nature is something you could describe as enchanting."

The old man suddenly chuckled.

"What is it?" She tilted her head to him.

"Oh, enchanting. I remembered something from that word. There was a book about different types of spells and curses an enchanter could summon, it was a fond memory of mine since that book was given to me by my student back in the old days."

Erza looked at him, wanting him to continue the story.

"Enchanters are powerful beings. There are different types of enchanters, though. Enchantments can do a lot of things, like abruptly changing atmosphere, altering a person's behavior, attaching and detaching magic, control a thing's state- and such things. It's wonderful, really."

Her breath hitches, "Wh-What can a high enchanter do?"

The old man stopped feeding the squirrels, and looked at her like she's telling a joke. "Well, lass, if I remembered correctly, a high enchanter can practically do anything. High enchanters are pretty rare these days," he sent her a toothed grin and wink, he reminded her of Natsu, "their spells and magics are probably a thousand times stronger than of a skilled mage on the particular magic."

Erza nodded absently, she figured she needed some time alone with her thoughts, so she thanked and bid farewell to the old man.

 _'High enchanters can practically do anything, and their magics are much extreme than of the professionals on the particular platform. If so, then I believe Irene can just heal me in a blink of an eye, which begs the question why didn't she?_ ' Feeling anxious for some reasons, she immediately went to the inn, stopping to enter the other redhead's room.

She'll wait for Irene to come back, and confront her. Erza is sure she has good reasons, and all she has to do is to wait. Waiting then was crossed off the to-do list when there came a huge violet plum of smoke appeared in the middle of the room.

The sight she beheld shocked her to the core.

Irene all but nearly collapsed on the floor, covered in various cuts and little bruises. The high enchanter was coughing horrendously, which turned into little sobs as Erza noticed her eyes filled with tears and quite red.

Erza immediately jumped into action, "Irene! Wh- Are you okay?" She wrapped her arms around the woman's waist and brought her to the bed. She inspected for any deep and life-threatening wounds, and she's glad she didn't found any. Seeing Irene like that, all suspicions dissipated from her mind.

She brought a bowl and sponge, she then turned to wipe away any remaining blood and dirt from Irene's body. She was shaking, what could ever have done this to her?

Looking at the woman's devastated eyes, she swallowed the lump forming on her throat and asked, _"What happened_?"

Irene inspected her arms and body, she immediately healed them and looked at Erza. "After I attended the meeting, I thought of finding your cure," Irene suddenly coughed, and Erza bowed her head a little with guilt, "but instead found a battle on-going. I figured it must be the war you're talking about, and when I saw a young mage getting attack, I immediately entered the battle field.

"After I battled the soldiers, I made sure the mages were safe and continued on my quest. But, oh, dear Erza, I cannot find it. Instead, I was greeted with a horrifying sight." She then wiped the silent tear cascading on her cheeks, "I found my daughters, Heine and Juliet, bounded by magic. And there was a silver haired mage, looking at them- and to the other person also bounded with magic. I realized it was the mage I helped, so I ran to them. But I was late. The decision the girl made was sacrificing my children for the other person's life."

Hot, angry tears fell from her eyes as she continued the story, "She didn't even thought of finding another way to save the three. Instead, she straight up chose to sacrifice them without even a hint of guilt or anything on her face and voice." She looked at the younger redhead, who has her hands clasped on her mouth. "It was going to take time to defeat the wizard holding them captive, but nonetheless it would've been easy. But the girl chose to do what is easy, and the lives of Heine and Juliet were forcibly taken away from them by her actions."

"After having the younger person on her arms, they stood and walked away. I ran up to them, asking why didn't she tried to save the two. In which she answered by trying to attack me, I didn't wanted to attack back, for I know I would have killed the girl with my magic." She rasped out, her sobs turning into little hiccups.

Erza could only wrap her arms around the other redhead, she couldn't believe what happened to the girls, and having a devastated looking Irene on her arms made her heart ache more.

"Did you- Did you happen to catch their name? Or the guild mark?"

If it was Mermaid Heel, she's afraid she has to turn her back from her 'sister' and aven-

"It was Fairy Tail."


	10. X lavenders blue

**Hello! And, oh wow, we're already at the tenth chapter yet there's still no "I am your _!" scene... oops? W-Well, I promise, it'll be sooner than** **you thought it would be! And, oh, you will also be surprised ;) heh. Anyways, thank you for the lovely reviews guys! They keep me motivated and excited :D Anyways I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! R &R!**

The cool water of the pond is comforting the nerves on her legs, she has been staring at her reflection for the past minutes, and her mind is silent.

Her shock already subdued hours ago. The sun is setting on the distance, and it's a beautiful sight, but she don't know what to think anymore.

Fairy Tail, her guild.

Irene, the woman who took care of her.

Heine and Juliet were sacrificed by her guildmate. And she's afraid to admit that she suspects it's her friend, Mirajane, who did it. It makes sense, since Mira will do anything to keep her siblings safe and well. But Mira simply choosing to give up and sacrifice the two youngsters just don't fit in the puzzle.

Her thoughts then turned to the other redhead. It was clear that she's devastated, but as a mother losing her children, she's actually doing fine. But of course she's not fine, it's hard to explain but anyways, Erza left when she was sleeping.

She knows she can't just suddenly turn her back on her family just for a mere woman.

 _A woman who lost her children after saving a fellow comrade who then became the reason of her children's death._

Erza jumps in surprise, a shiver went down on her spine, and she placed her hand over her rapidly beating heart. That was a such a thought that rejuvenated her, in a bad way.

She bit her lower lip, she has to find a decision in the middle. In the middle of avenging Heine and Juliet in some ways and leaving Irene alone.

She just can't.

Erza stood up, drying her legs up with an excess cloth, and stared at the now rising moon. _'I need to restore my magic first before doing anything.'_ she decided.

Walking back to the inn, she blocked out any thoughts that would make her head and heart hurt. She stopped in front of Irene's door, and decided to quietly enter using a spare key.

The requip mage silently walked towards the bed and sat beside the occupant. She then noticed some kind of sheaths lying beside the other redhead, and it looks like they contained two swords. Erza furrowed her brows, why would Irene need these? She then moved to grab it, there's something about them that feels so familiar, as she was about to place her hand on top of it, a hand suddenly pulled her wrist out of the swords' reach.

Biting back the scream, she looked at the person beside her. "I-Irene!"

"What are you doing?" Irene tilted her head, her face may be stoic but one got to admit she looks quite _cute_ with the blankets wrapped around her.

"N-Nothing." Erza took a deep breath to calm her heart, "I just sensed a familiar presence on these swords."

The redhead then turned and grabbed the sheathed swords and 'ported them away, God knows where. She then turned to Erza and pat the space next to her. The requip mage moved closer to her.

"Something is troubling you, dear Erza."

Erza bit her lower lip, Irene is using that warm concerned voice and she's afraid that might get her to admit what was she thinking earlier.

Irene noticed her distress and sighed, "I had a sister once. She was years younger than me, but she's a strong little girl on her age. One day, when I went out for a business trip, I left her in our village, there was someone who was there to take care of her so I was confident she'll be alright. But when I came back, I found my homeland burnt to the ground, ashes everywhere and.. bodies. It was an attack, and my sister was murdered along with the townspeople."

It was a sudden story, but nonetheless Erza felt her heart ache for the woman beside her. But she was confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

Irene caressed her cheeks and smiled, "I moved on, sure it hurt me deeply, but I managed. Heine and Juliet's deaths will be survivable for me. It's okay if you want to leave for your guild, dear Erza."

That only made the guilt on her stomach spreads out throughout her body. Erza stuttered to say something, but she doesn't know what to.

"Leave in the morning. That way it'll hurt less and save us a bitter goodbye." That damn soft voice! It only made her heart heavier, she made the mistake of looking at Irene, because she found an understanding smile.

Forcing herself to stand-up, Erza walked towards the door. "Goodnight Irene."

As she walked towards her room, she starts to remember her memories shared with her guild. And then the memories shared with Irene and the two. Erza draw a breath and forced herself to calm down. She went to pack any belongings she have, which then resulted into a small satchel to carry them around. All she had were a sack of jewels, her old clean clothes, a few belongings she bought, some bandages, a compact communication lacri-

Like a rocket shooting for the sky, she jumped and grabbed the lacrima. How could she not have thought of it earlier on? She wanted to smack her head but she have no time to waste. Opening the lacrima, she then searched through her contacts and decided to call on a certain ice mage.

Anxiously waiting for him to pick up, she paced through her room.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank goodness you finally picked up the lacrima!"

"Wait- Erza?"

"The one and only, Gray." She can't help but to chuckle, she actually missed his voice. It gave her so much hope that the others are doing fine.

"What the he- it's been nearly two days, Erza! What happened? Tell me, and where are you?"

"While we were with the Sabertooth members along with Reedus and Cana, there was an anti-bomb that hit me and blasted me off to God knows where. There was a woman who found me, though, and she helped and took care of me. We're in a town in Southeast, Paccundol is the name. How are you and the others?"

Gray smirked through the line, "We're fine, Erza. Some are injured, but nothing we can't endure. It's good to hear you're okay, come back soon alright? We actually need you here. Some of these Spriggans are appearing, and they're proven themselves to be quite handy."

Erza smiled, for it was calming to hear none of them were captured, or worst, killed. Which reminded her of two certain people. She shivered and cleared her throat. "That's good to hear. But I'm afraid to tell you something, Gray."

Feeling concerned over his comrade, Gray asked in rush. "What? What happened? Tell me, Erza."

With a sigh, she answered. "I'm currently unable to access my magic. I need to restore it first before participating again in the war. If I did before doing so, I will just be a liability to the guild."

"You'll never be a liability to Fairy Tail. You're a comrade, and whatever happens, we'd always have each others' backs." The two mages smiled, "Well Erza, I'll give you a call if I happen to find a way to restore your magic. But for the meantime, you'll have to hit the books and those stuffs."

"Thank you, Gray. So, I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, see you soon, Erza."

The line ended and Erza couldn't be more happier to hear a fellow comrade's voice, hopeful and alive.

She laid down on the bed, some weight finally lifted from her shoulders. And she has a plan for tomorrow.

* * *

Irene was eating at the inn's diner, when she was greeted with an Erza Scarlet suddenly sitting in front of her.

The high enchanter stopped cutting her pancakes to look at the mage in front of her.

"Good morning, I suppose?" She offered a warm cup of tea to Erza.

"I have decided to stay, Irene."

Now that was something the Spriggan doesn't hear everyday.


	11. XI lavenders green

**Hello, guys! First of all, I think some of you forgot (and maybe it's my fault too bc Irene is kindaaaaaa super OOC here, ehem) that Irene Belserion is an evil and sadistic person. She is someone who brings despair. And she has been for years, even decades, sure she might show some soft spots but the bigger part of her screams evil. Secondly, I'd like to apologize because of the late update, something just came up. Oh, and guys, please do write what you think about this story so far :) It helps improving the plot X)**

 **Enjoy :) R &R!**

 **And also, I believe there's a rant coming up for this week's update. Just skip this part. And yeah, you'll see glimpses of swearings and stuffs when you do so, err sorry.**

 **!DANGER LIES AHEAD!**

* * *

 **holy shit**

 **my lady** **minerva and rogue + irene and erza**

 **all in one chapter**

 **i-**

 **im choking with feels**

 **aNYWAYS**

 **"forbidden fruit" huh? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) huehehehe**

 **soo,,,,,, basically all of those who aren't virgin anymore are affected by larcade's magic/curse or wHATEVER**

 **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) lady minerva and rogue ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) im smelling something ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) but whatever ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) just wistful thinking ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **(anD shit lady minerva and irene's expressions killed me)**

 **(theyre so sexy whyyy)**

 **(ooPs)**

 **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **(i swear im not straight)**

 **(wait i meant im not trying to ship them or anything)**

 **(i-**

 **kay so,,,, irene is murdering me**

 **and lady minerva is also murdering me**

 **thAnks**

* * *

Irene was surprised on the outcome of the earlier event. Erza was supposed to leave and she'll continue the next step of their plan, but it was not what she expected. Nevertheless, she was satisfied that Erza is staying with her.

She had long since decided she would keep the girl back on the empire or their current headquarters until the war was over. But their plan isn't successful yet, she needs Erza to stay with her forever. And that means she needs not to go back to Fairy Tail.

The younger redhead was staying on the library, probably looking for a spell to restore her magic. Irene feels a little bad for Erza, seeing she's working hard to find a way to do so. She could restore her magic, yes, but there's no reassurance she won't go back and participate in the war. And so, Irene has to harden her heart. _It's for Erza's sake_ , she thought.

A sleeping drug would do. The high enchanter and the Emperor already discussed that the fairy would be kept in their clutches, and to be protected from the other Spriggans. Thankfully, they didn't objected or anything. It was a gift Zeref gave to her, being able to have Erza in the Alvarez when the war is over.

Despite all that, it wouldn't happen if her dear Erza won't stay with her, won't it?

* * *

Having eaten twelve cakes already, Erza would say she's perfectly happy. That is, until she remembered that she's currently magicless and useless for the guild war. Which is something hard to forget, seeing she's surrounded with different types of books about magic.

Setting the fork down, she then grabbed her coffee and drank. It's been five hours or so since she went on the library, and still she couldn't find anything. It's as if someone made sure she won't find anything, she grumbled.

Erza looked at the thick violet leather bound book on her left and grabbed it. Healing Remedies, huh? She opened the book and searched in the bibliography for any terms or words that is close to her situation.

Restoring magic, pg. 667 her eyes widened, no way. Did she just spent five hours reading those other books and suffering just to se this phrase that is not just close and similar, but exactly what she's looking for. So, _did she_? Yes she did.

Immediately turning to the page, Erza grinned. There's a whole lot other sections on the chapter, but she's determined to find the right thing for her situation. Reading past the others, she nearly squealed in delight when she found the term _bomb_.

The requip mage immediately took her notepad and scribbled the ingredients:

 _four sprigs of lavender, six measures of herbs with magical components, two blobs of Flobberworm mucus, and four valerian sprigs_.

Erza was more than happy that she recognized three of the four ingredients can be bought from the shops in the town. The valerian sprigs, she's afraid, she has to find on her own.

She then went and returned the books she used with a happy expression, finally when time has come she can go back to her guild and help. That is, until she implements her plan.

Looking at the a particular window on the inn, she sighed and started to gather the ingredients. Little did she know, the pages on the book she just read changed back to its real context.

* * *

Irene sensed Erza leaving the town's border and smiled, so her plan had succeeded. She then went to the requip mage's room and decided to pack her belongings. ' _You're going back with me, Erza_.' She thought.

The redhead then approached an already packed satchel with little surprise. So she had thought of leaving me, she thought. Irene then carried the satchel and went to the door, only to be surprised when she felt vibrations on it. Immediately, she opened it and saw a compact communication lacrima.

The high enchanter was confused for a moment, but then let out a little 'tsk. No doubt it's Erza's guildmate trying to contact her. She then answered it.

"Hey Erza, Levy-chan found a way to restore your magic. The Shadow Gear isn't too busy so they'll come for you, just send us your location again."

Oh, so her dear Erza had told them about her situation huh?

Irene sighed inaudibly and tried to add curiosity on her voice,

"Hello, who is this?"

The person on the line paused, "Um, this is Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. Erza's guildmate, you must be the woman who took care of her?"

"That must be me," Irene then smirked, "are you looking for Erza?"

"Oh, yes! We found a way to restore her magic, and we're wondering about her, or your, location so we can can help her."

"There's actually no need anymore."

Lucy was surprised, "Uh, what do you mean Ma'am?"

"Erza found a way to restore her magic, I believe you're just going to waste time to travel towards here."

Lucy then faltered, she then gave the lacrima to its owner.

"Is that so, Ma'am? Then if you may, please tell Erza that when she comes back here at once, we're going to take back our guild and the First."

Irene rose her eyebrow in amusement, so that's the fairies' plan huh? She suddenly remembered Mavis, the First of the Fairy Tail, in the Emperor's clutches. Probably just leaving her locked up or letting her see the blood spilled of her guild. Nonetheless, she doesn't care.

"That is, if she'll ever go back." Irene whispered and smirked as she saw, from her summoned Eye in the sky, the expressions from the people who heard her almost inaudible whisper.

"Did you say som-"

Irene then threw the lacrima on the floor, stepped her heel on it and watched it smashed into thousand pieces.

She will make sure she won't lose Erza, _ever_ again.

* * *

Erza is in the middle of a field, surrounded with different kinds of herbs and plants. She was about to pick sprigs of valerian when she noticed there were three military trucks heading towards near Paccundol. Her fear was confirmed when she saw the flag of Alvarez on it.

"Shit! I'm currently powerless, only have a dagger with, miles away from safety, and there are three troops of soldiers. Oh great."

When she saw the military trucks venturing a little towards west, she immediately run swiftly until she reached the town.

Erza then went towards an alchemy station and proceeded to brew her potion. She needs to hurry so that she could warn Irene about the troops and so she could restore her magic. She then pour the mixture into a bottle and smiled, it's done.

The mage then went towards the inn and tried to locate the other redhead, but then noticed the door of her room was slightly ajar. Erza entered and saw her shattered lacrima on the floor. Her heart sped up when she picked up the scent of Irene on the room.

Forcing herself to calm down, she then went to Irene's room. Surprised that she wasn't in the room, she decided to wait for her.

Fifteen minutes have passed when Irene finally came back.

"Oh, Erza, where have you been?"

Erza then narrowed her eyes a little and asked, "Where have you been?"

She saw a hint of surprise on the woman's eyes but it disappeared when she blinked, "I was just out. Now, about my question."

"Oh, well, you see," Erza then showed her the flask containing the potion, "I actually brewed a restoring potion so I could restore my magic back."

Irene narrowed her eyes at the girl, "And for what reason?"

"So I could help eliminate the enemies of my guild."

The Spriggan then fingered her braid, "I thought you were going to stay with me, whatever might have happened?"

Erza then smiled with little emotion on her eyes, "I was actually going to stay with you. Of course, temporarily, since I have to go back for my guild."

And suddenly, the requip mage brought her weapon and pinned the high enchanter to the wall with the blade of the dagger pressed on her throat.

"That is, until I realized the enemy was with me all along."


	12. XII spring unsprung

**To my POC's, LGBTQ, immigrants, women, Muslims, non-Christians, disabled, and others, we are together.**

 **We fight together.**

 **Don't lose hope.**

 **In the times of despair, only hope is our strength.**

* * *

Irene Belserion have been in many, many different situations.

But she never thought she would be pinned to a wall with a dagger pressed on her throat by her very own and dearest Erza.

"I never thought that I would find a Spriggan away from the war zone, especially one living with me."

Her cold eyes stared directly at Irene's eyes, "Strange, isn't it?"

"Why?"

That one question would have been enough for Irene to speak out the reason. But she stills her heart, it's not yet the time.

"Erza, stop this nonsense."

The requip mage huffed in amusement and disbelief, "Drop the act, Irene. I know who you are."

Irene stills ever so slightly, then snarled, for she had decided that she has to resort to the final thing she wanted to do.

"Please- what happened that made you doubt me?"

It only made Erza growled at her and hold her tighter in the wall, "I'm not as oblivious as you think I am."

Irene only stared at her feet, "I just want the best for you- I'm no enemy, have you forgotten what we've come through together?"

"You speak like three days were years," Erza then tilted her head, "and you claim you're not the enemy? The mark on your back tells me otherwise."

It's as if the Spriggan doesn't care about her position right now, that there was actual genuine puzzlement on her eyes.

The younger redhead then smiles unkindly, "I saw the Alvarez mark on your back when you were braiding your hair earlier."

* * *

 _It was already nine am when Erza decided to rest after a little walk on the park, as she was walking to her room she couldn't help but to feel that she should invite the high enchanter and eat strawberry cheesecakes with her. She's sure nothing could scare Irene, and her eating habit isn't that scary, right?_

 _Twisting the silver door knob, she then proceeded to quietly enter the room to look for the woman. She found her, with her facing the vanity, professionally braiding her thick long scarlet hair._

 _The requip mage decided she'll invite the woman later when she saw a symbol peeking beneath the convenient thin layer of the light blue bathrobe on the other redhead's back._

 _She nearly screamed when she recognized the familiar symbol on the woman's back._ Fuck, no way. She's an Alvarez. Fuck.

 _With her heart hammering on her chest, she did her best to stay hidden and kept the stinging tears on her eyes at bay, she felt so betrayed. And afraid._

 _Erza then proceeded to quietly exit and pray to the heavens that the door wouldn't creak. Her prayers were answered._

* * *

Irene widened her eyes in surprise, she never noticed the younger mage entered her room!

"Surprised, huh? You'll enjoy hearing the others." Erza drawled sarcastically.

* * *

 _It was way past midnight, precisely 2:41 am, when she suddenly woke up. Erza was about to shut her eyelids once again when she heard tiny buzzing outside. Cautious, she then curiously opened the door a little and investigate what that was about. When she did, she felt a small but noticeable lingering energy around the hallway._

 _Holding the dagger she bought earlier, Erza then cautiously followed the energy. She was lost quite some time until she felt it once again, and this time, it was stronger. She found herself in front of the door where Heine and Juliet ar- were staying at. Erza vaguely remembered the inn staff saying once they rented an inn, there's no refund and such things._

 _Holding her breath, she then tried to open the door. She was then disappointed when she felt it locked, but then was delighted to be able to open it with a complicated makeshift key made from clips and hair pins._

 _Erza was nevertheless shocked when she found the two swords Irene teleported earlier sitting in the middle of the bed. She then made the move to touch it, and when_ _she finally did, she felt like cold ice water fell from her._

 _Because the feeling of the swords sent familiar tingles from her fingertips, and it was exactly the feeling she get when she makes contact with Heine and Juliet._

* * *

"And then I discovered that the swords you desperately teleported away were basically your two children," Erza barked in anger, "and I would believe that story you told me was just made-up for me to doubt my family.

At the mention of her ' _children_ ' Irene was quietly gritting her teeth, which went unnoticed by the other redhead with Irene's bowed down face.

"You.. don't know anything."

That only made Erza growled and pressed the dagger even further to her throat, drawing little lines of blood.

"I know one thing right know, that you're the enemy."

The Spriggan cranes her neck closer to the tip of the dagger and gave the mage even clear passage to her neck.

"If I am the enemy, then kill me."

Erza, even filled with rage, faltered the littlest bit inside, "This little dagger won't kill you."

For some reason, Irene felt something coming. There was something Erza wasn't telling her, and she might find out if she makes the right choices. She then thought of her other plan and felt that it was the last chance she had until she has to resort to the last plan. Her sleeping drug for the girl, the last plan.

"So you have plans to kill me." Irene looked around, "If that dagger won't kill me, why won't you drink the potion you brewed to restore your magic?"

Erza chuckles, "So, you really think I didn't noticed?"

 _Shit, she figured it out._ Irene glanced up to Erza.

"Illusion magic, that's a nice one, Irene. Only you didn't realized I know a lot of things."

* * *

 _Adding 2 measures of Standard Ingredient to the mortar and crushing it into a creamy paste using the pestle, she's far from finished, but the recipe is simple, yet powerful._

 _The strong scent of the herbs makes her eyes sting but she continues on, she fears that if she wasted even a couple of minutes, the army she saw will appear and attack._

 _With the restoring potion, she could feel that she could defend herself from what Irene would do to her once she figured out her plan. Her betrayal still hurt, but she distracted herself with the potion._

 _Finally, navy blue smoke starts to go up and then with a sizzle, her potion is complete. She scooped the liquid from the cauldron to fill the flask beside her. After paying for the rental, she then started to walk outside, only to be stopped by a resident alchemist._

 _"Excuse me, but I noticed your potion. Now, we don't normally get into business of other people, but when we see a potion that could harm others, we tend to take action on it."_

 _Erza was surprised, "I'm sorry, but what harm can a restoring potion can bring?"_

 _The alchemist then furrowed his brows, "Restoring potion? That's a Sleeping Draught, miss. Where did you get the ingredients from?"_

 _"Pardon? Sleeping Draught? But the book clearly states that it was a restoring potion."_

 _She then noticed a familiar book beside the counter,_ oh wait that's the same book I found the ingredients from, so convenient.

 _"Hey, can I borrow that? It's the book I actually found the ingredients from."_

 _The alchemist then nodded and passed her the book._

 _"Here,_ _pg. 667_ _-" Erza then fell silent, "_ _Vulnerability Potions_ _."_

 _The man noticed the dampening of her mood so he tried to cheer her up, "Now, now. I'm sure something just happened, maybe someone who borrowed the book long ago experimented on it and created an illusion of healing remedy. Or maybe it was enchanted by the book vendor the library bought from!"_

 _Hearing the word enchant only made Erza's blood to boil, she grit her teeth and bid farewell to the alchemist._

 _Of course. Who else could enchant professionally than a high enchanter like Irene?_

* * *

"So what was your plan? To let me drug myself? And what, proceed to kill me when I am unconscious?"

Irene shook her head vigorously and looked at Erza with disbelief, "No! I-I could never even bring the thought of, killing you without feeling sick."

The requip mage then blinked swiftly, she could not bear looking at her now.

They stayed like that for a moment until Irene pressed on.

"Other than the, ah, mark on my back, you have no proof that I am part of the Alvarez."

"Your general. He mentioned you were a royalty." Erza bit her lips, "But I never found any royalty named Irene Belserion in any books I have read, old and recent. At least here in Ishgar."

"I received informations about the war. And our opponent, Spriggan 12." Erza actually spoke with an apparent upset tone, "They told me how they found out the Calamity, August, is the strongest man. And that a woman who goes with the moniker, _Scarlet_ _Despair_ , is the strongest woman, _Irene Belserion_."

Silence descended upon the room.

Erza fought hard to keep the hot hurting tears at bay, while Irene desperately tried to make the move to get closer to her.

"Erza, please. I never meant to hurt you."

The younger redhead hiccuped and looked at her through her blurry visions, "Then what? You are our enemy, and with the time I spent with you there's a high chance that my family are getting hurt by your army."

"I can't do anything about that. I just want to finish the war quickly- and you're my only concern."

"Only concern?" She pressed hard again at her throat, drawing even more blood. "How?! I don't even know how much you've said to me is true, you practically lied about everything to me!"

"You're right- not everything I said to you is true." Irene wiped the trickling blood away from her chest, "But I genuinely want to protect you."

"Protect me from what?!" The fairy shouted, "I have endured much worse things than your betrayal- so no, I don't need protection, especially from a Spriggan like _you_."

That hurts like a bitch for the high enchanter. But still, she brushed it off.

"From everything!" Irene heaved as she nearly matched the other woman's tone, "We're doing this for this because it's the best solution- and I want you to be safe away from the outcome of the war."

"You have a sick solution," she shook her head, "and no, I am a part of the war. It's my duty as a Fairy Tail wizard."

"Our solution may seem deniable but it can bring peace throughout the nation."

"You're unbelievable."

" _I'm_ unbelievable? How about you? I'm offering you freedom and safety from everything!"

The two didn't even noticed the gap between them but frankly if they did, they can't afford to care.

"But then if I accepted, what fate would I have there? Unhappiness, I say!"

"How can you be so sure of that if you enjoyed being with my company?!"

"That's because I thought you were a kind person! But now I finally knew you were a malicious sadist."

"I have done nothing to hurt you!"

"Nothing to hurt me, you say? Your betrayal tells me otherwise!"

"If you really don't care about me, then why are you holding into my so called betrayal?"

Erza didn't answered, instead she glared at her. "Because I _trusted_ you even for a little."

Irene faltered, she then stepped forward to the mage. " _Then trust me again to protect you_."

"No- but why did you chose me?"

The high enchanter's eyes widened, "B-Because of what we went through together, even in a little span of time."

The requip mage then narrowed her eyes, "You're not telling me something."

The anger in her voice suddenly went back, "That's just not it, Irene. I know it."

Irene then went around her, "It is!"

"There's something you're not telling me." Erza then stared at her quite desperately, "You need something from me. No. That's it, isn't it?"

"What? No! I told you, I just happened to like you and became close with you!" Irene turned to her side, "So please, just take it. I don't want to take you forcibly, because there's no way I'm leaving without you, Erza."

"I don't need you! Of all the people, why me?!" Erza was gripping the hilt of the dagger so tight that it's slowly crushing between her hand, "You should've just left me to die if you were just going to imprison me!"

The fairy continued and continued, until the high enchanter has had enough and looked to her.

With her staff loudly stomping down to the floor, Irene Belserion thundered.

 _"Because I'm your mother!"_

Moments of pure silence had passed until Irene exhaustingly looked at the other person in the room and rasped out, "Please, just come with me."

Erza Scarlet was standing so stiffly, but it didn't stopped the tears streaming down from her eye.

Irene sobbed out as she shakingly went beside the frozen figure. "My dearest, dearest _daughter._ " It was pure bliss and relief to finally utter those words for her. "I never thought I would ever say those words to you."

Agonizing seconds passed until Erza finally looked at her, with such conflicted emotions apparent to her face. "You.. are my mother?"

Not being able to form any words, Irene just nodded as tears fell from her eyes.

She waited, and waited- until Erza's legs finally gave up as she fell on her knees with Irene beside her, holding her.

"Y-You're not, you're not her." Erza shook her head furiously in denial.

Even the words actually hurt her, Irene just pushed strands of the scarlet locks of her daughter behind her ears, and whispered softly. "I just wanted the best for you."

Shakingly, Erza looked up and stared to her mother's eyes. Full of love. It was all she needed as she collapsed into a sobbing mess, with Irene's arms all around her.

They stayed together, just feeling each other. Desperately never wanting to pull away. Their only witness, their hearts.


	13. XIII thirteenth origin

**Advanced apologies for the grammatical error and typos, I finished late at night.**

 **I used the society's nickname, so there's that. Just don't mind it ;)**

 **We had our field trip, and boy, did that one show gave me ideas a** **bout one-shots (ehem, Irene and Acnologia, ehem). Speaking of, would you like to read a certain one-shot? Hit me up with the ideas :) Either her or on the direct message, heh.**

 **(As I was editing and adding final touches, somebody just followed this story. Welp. Here's an update, you don't have to wait for couple of days bud.)**

 **Your lovely reviews are really boosting me up, so thank you. With an invincible heart. I believe this is the longest chapter so far. Thoughts please!**

 **Enjoy! R &R!**

* * *

 _The Thirteenth Origin_

* * *

 _Born with the potential incredulous magic, Irene Belserion was adored. Some feared that she might end up becoming evil like many wizards did, but within her years she used it for the greater good._

 _The young mage was a complex and mysterious c_ _reature. She was still young when the local philosophers was fascinated with her disposition. Within her years, she became a graceful and magnificent woman, outstanding strength and intelligence. Irene was a great wizard too, but it wasn't enough._

 _Irene was seventeen years old when she decided to pursue her career outside hometown, her parents were sad to know that she will part ways from them but still they supported her. It took her sheer will power to break away from her younger sister's tight hug when she was going to aboard the ship. Irene promised to write letters and visit them._

 _The redhead never settled in one place for too long, she wanted to learn, go on adventures, train, and succeed. She admits, she feels lonely because she has no one to be with for two years. But that didn't stopped her._

 _Soon, she was approached by someone. A wizard, clearly. There was just something peculiar about him, but still she decided to become friends with him. He said that she has potentials to become one of the most peerless wizards of all. And she replied by saying he makes her blush. It rekindled their friendship. Strange, yet fitting._

 _She later on found out he was the Black Wizard, Zeref. And it excited her. Zeref taught her different types of magic. He was entranced on how graceful she is on enchanting. So he focused on her enchanting power. They were both lonely, it was still a mystery how Irene managed to be with him and with his curse. They taught each other, with Irene teaching Zeref about controlling his curse with a simple yet amazing philosophy- forget the value of life._

 _Soon enough, Zeref controlled his curse and was deeply grateful of his friend. He promised to fulfill one of the high enchanter's deepest desire, Irene still haven't decided what she should tell him so she told him that she can fulfill it in some other time. Zeref felt cautious with Irene's thoughts and beings, knowing there is a chance that her heart would be filled with malice. In which the redhead replied with her being already passed the naïvety and innocence chapter, not that she is evil or something, and she is aware of her power and ability to erase a person's existence._

 _The two parted ways when something came, with Zeref, his growing empire. And with Irene, her decision to come and visit her family. They were still friends though, and Zeref secured his student on his mind._

 _Almost five years away from your family makes you really exhilarated about seeing them. Irene was a bit nervous but she really cannot wait to see her family again. As she flew across the country back to her hometown, she cannot help but to feel proud of herself. No longer the girl with the mischievous glint on her eyes, but a woman with maturity and power._

 _As she arrived at her country border, she felt a stab of nostalgia as she nears her hometown. She felt a horrible feeling next when she was riding the carriage, which went stronger when she saw the sympathetic look on her driver. She wonders why._

 _Her answer came when she saw the ashen remains of her town, full of broken structures and fallen buildings. Dirts and rubbish were all around the town. Irene felt her heart beat even more rapidly when she saw blankets covering something, corpses._

 _Irene had never felt fear like this ever since she was a child. Not the fear of monsters hiding under her bed, but the fear when she felt the carriage she and her sister was on got hit by something huge that made their things crashed to them, and felt their body rolling inside it as her heart got stuck on her throat when she realized they were falling off a cliff. The twelve years old Irene was covered in blood, with a nasty cut on her shoulder blades and eyebrow, she was even more terrified when saw her five year old sister's arm twisted in a strange way. And the fear she felt that day was tenfold when she approached her once lovely and mighty home reduced in rubble. And she found three body lumps covered with blankets beside her broken home._

 _Two days. It happened two days after she arrived. What luck. A criminal dark guild did this. Caused chaos and death upon her people. She buried her family on their favorite spot on the forest near the town. The funeral was silent, only she and Zeref were there. The Black Wizard offered to make the attackers pay, but Irene declined, saying she would want to be the one to cause them suffering. She didn't know that her friend, for once, felt a bit afraid of this type of her that was controlled of emotions. He left after she told him that she'll take care of few business there. Irene enchanted the whole lot for great protection and care for its creatures. A large statue of her family crest was placed before their tombstones._

 _Irene, with a wave of hand, helped the remaining survivors as she left the town. Gone was the forgiving side of Irene, as the side of pleasure into inflicting pain to others came to light. Her family was the only thing that held her, and now that they're gone, nothing is stopping her anymore._

 _She went back to train with Zeref. Wanting to become even more powerful, the ravenhead didn't objected for he has nothing to do, too. He invited her to work with him. An empire in another continent. Irene could be his general. She accepted, and the two continued._

 _Eventually, she felt lonely again. And she felt something blossoming on her chest when she dreamt of a life living on her womb. Every time she would remember it, her face would flush and she would feel flustered and her heart would suddenly skip a beat. It took her months to finally admit it to herself, she wanted to be a mother._

 _She called upon Zeref and he helped her. Soon, she conceived a child. Irene still did her duties as the dark wizard's general, and she still go on adventures and battle others. But she would always border herself with killing others, whenever she would find herself about to kill a person, she would hand them over her soldier and make them do it. She couldn't do it, as long her child is with her._

 _Irene had such entertainment when Zeref himself reduced her duties and almost made everyone to do the little jobs he gave to her. She promised that she won't over exhaust herself, she knew her limitations with her pregnancy. She also decided to depart from the empire, for she noticed her Emperor's growing concern over her and her child. Not much of will to control his curse, isn't it?_

 _She still did her duties as the general, but not as much as she did before. She spent her pregnancy in Alvarez and gave birth to a girl with a lovely pair of brown eyes and vibrant scarlet hair. She was feeling antsy about naming her daughter, she then soon found a perfect name for her-_ _Eryzeia_ _._

 _She soon went back to Ishgar to raise Erza (Eryzeia), they would move places to places, for she do not want to stay in one place and have the people to know her and her daughter for far too long. She would still fulfill her duties even far away, though Zeref rarely sends her a job consuming too much time, she's thankful for the wizard, it meant more time with Erza._

 _Soon enough, years passed and Erza was no longer a helpless bundle. She's already four years old, and she's the apple of Irene's eyes. She has inherited much features from her mother, and her growing magic is becoming Irene's concern. She would train Erza, yes, but she do not want her to be immediately exposed to magic yet. So she just taught Erza about magic and how to conjure and use it with her enchantment of blocking the child from accessing her magic. Soon, but not now._

 _A fated day soon came, as Irene and little Erza were training within a forest. A group of wizards came, expressions stoic and some, smug. Irene quickly realized that they were hunting her when the leader announced that she was here the whole time. Instinctually, Erza came behind her mother, noticing Irene's aura. Smart girl at her age, she just shook her head at the ground thinking the bad people would regret it, for they do not know how dangerous her momma can get whenever she's with her and people would approach her._

 _Irene noticed that they were wand users, which makes them even more threatening. She was not afraid or threatened, she knew she could immediately kill them within a blink of an eye. But she can't take risks with Erza here. (And admittedly, she feels disappointed her daughter is here because that means she cannot play with her new toys)_

 _Suddenly, about eight of them pointed their wands to her and three towards Erza. That just did it. Baring her teeth, she then wave her hand and countered the spell:_ Expelliarmus _with her own wandless_ Protego _towards Erza alone. Frankly, she didn't need the staff and her daughter is already defended even without that wooden sword. She then looked at them and with a snap, she split their wands in two. Not really smug now that their sticks are gone, huh?_

 _Her confidence didn't wavered when she saw them drawing their iron swords. Annoyed that their training schedule is getting overboard by fighting them, she then immediately enchanted them to lose consciousness. Surprised a little that it only caused stinging on them, she was amused when she felt enchanted layers of protection to the men. A really serious and some powered person is behind this, she has an addition to her fans club, it seems._

 _Then, they all surged towards her and Erza. They can't touch her daughter, so Irene decided to have a little fun and conjured two ruby encrusted swords-that way, if blood spilled it won't be too noticeable. She then ran towards her side and jumped mid-air then landed on the guy's back and stabbed him, making sure his blood won't spill on the floor, she did the most obvious thing: froze his blood._

 _Irene then kicked the ground and she send herself diving towards the circle of them- on the side, and slashed them all from abdomen to shoulder. She then sensed about seventy of other wizards in the near clearing. This guy is crazy, sending a hundred men to fight me, she rolled her eyes. Time for more exercising with swords then, too time-consuming to peel off the protective layers to them._

 _She could feel her daughter's eyes watching her intently, and then she smiled at her and shook her head. Really, she's far too young to copy her mother's moves._

 _Maybe it was the euphoria of having taken lives in rows, or maybe the exhilarating feeling surging on her veins as she move that she was distracted away from her daughter. Later than she thought when she saw a wizard lifting up the spell she had casted on Erza. As she saw the blade of a strange looking sword, Irene ran up to her daughter in a light-speed._

 _Too late. She felt the blade of the sword sinking deeply to her flesh. She felt as if her head was put under the water as the words she heard were traveling rather slowly and shadowy from her ears to her brain, so that it was difficult to understand. She can't explain it. She then gasped loudly as she felt the blade being immediately pulled out. She fell down to her knees as she felt something acidic travel towards her chest, she shakily conjured a towel and tried to cover most of the wound and put pressure on it when suddenly saw a very bright light coming from behind her. Three to five of them fell down. She then shakily conjured an axe and let it hit them square to the chest. That magic- something tells her that was similar to her's._

 _Coughing up blood, Irene grasped hardly to reality. She's not going to pass out, especially with her daughter unguarded. Speaking of... She turned to her back with difficulty as she saw Erza sobbing messily. Her heart ached at the sight, so she did her best to patch the wound up with magic immediately. She would deal with it later, just put on a show that she's okay so her little sunshine would stop crying._

 _They went back to their current home as soon as Irene found strength to teleport themselves back. Making sure the girl was occupied, she went to the bathroom and saw the damage. She winced as she caught sight of the wound, it was too deep. Mystery on how she managed to not pass out, she may be peerless but she's still a human. It was going to leave a nasty scar, she figured. A long and angular one. Her heart felt heavy about that. Her heart. Wait. She looked to the mirror and with great shock, find her heart shining with purple color. She could see her HEART! Fuck._

 _They visited the Emperor of Alvarez. She could not find words when he explained that the sword that had pierced her was coated in poison. Only the poison that was supposed to kill anything it touched didn't did its job very well. Due to her complex system, the poison was eliminated but due to its powerful essence- it did something to Irene. It cursed her. She was cursed to eternally have her form and never age, she was not immortal, but she could not age due to it._

 _It actually devastated her. Really strange creature, Zeref thought. But he did not like the devastated look on her pretty face so he calmly told her about the bright side of the effect. Reluctantly, she clung to it._

 _They spent almost a year in Alvarez where Irene found herself busy with her duties again. She left her daughter in the castle every time she leaves for her missions. She still finds time to train and have quality time with the child. Irene was surprised with Erza's magic power, she was still quite young and that proves that she has the potential to become peerless like her mother when she knocked those adult and enchanted wizards. That's what you get when your mother is the Irene Belserion, Zeref mused as he watched his female general train with the child._

 _There were two new board members, apparently. Bloodman and Jacob Lessio. Her colleague, the second general, August, informed her. They were very skilled and powerful, but not in her or August's league. Her attention went back to her child, and they went back to Ishgar._

 _Years passed by and little Erza was not so little anymore. Four years since her first usage of magic, and four years since the curse mishap. The whole "not being able to age" thing annoyed the high enchanter as she couldn't really cut off her thick and long scarlet mane. So she sports them in four separated braids. Her daughter's favorite hair style. They also represents her daughter's age. Two in locks within the four, and that makes eight of them._

 _Erza bouncily walked towards her mother, hiding something behind her. She felt suspicious, it's her birthday after all. Normally, she wouldn't care about that day, but little Erza was very excited about it every year ever since she learned how to create pancakes. She's growing up too fast and Irene didn't liked it, nevertheless she supported her daughter's growing nature._

 _"What is it on your back, buttercup?"_

 _"'S a surprise, mommy!"_

 _The child giggled as she mentioned her mother to close her eyes, begrudgingly she closed them as she secretly waved her hand to cast a spell on the thing she's cooking. Never bad to be safe, right?_

 _She felt her daughter coming to the dining table and placing something down. A box. A gift? She was confused since the girl already showed her gifts to her early that morning. She then felt Erza's hand to guide her towards the table, she sat down and waited._

 _"You can open them now mommy!"_

 _And so she did. Placed in front of her was something she absolutely adored more than anything (apart from her daughter, of course). A strawberry cheesecake._

 _"I baked them for you, mommy."_

 _Erza said shyly with a tint of pink covering her cute cheeks. She was awarded with a very tight embrace from the other redhead._

 _"You did? When?"_

 _"Yeah! Baker Lloyd helped me mommy! He was the one who baked them though.. I helped making it and decorating it!"_

 _Baker Lloyd... Ah, the kind and joyful middle-aged man. She vaguely remembers him and his wife, Kate, offering to look after Erza some time ago._

 _"So he did," Irene mentally made a reminder to thank him when she sees him, "well thank you, darling."_

 _She gave her a big kiss on the nose which made the child giggle in delight, "C'mon, let's eat this."_

 _Erza, however, pouted. She looked at the cake warily and to her mother, who sighed and looked at her in a not so serious deadpan way. She pouted even more. Erza didn't like strawberry cheesecake. In fact, she never liked strawberries. Her mother, however, absolutely loved anything with them._

 _"Baby, c'mon, do it for me. It's my birthday after all." Irene trailed._

 _"Momma." Erza pouted, "I don't like it."_

 _"Two bites. For mommy's birthday?"_

 _It took her to pepper her face with kisses when she finally gave in with a scowl. Erza looks absolutely cute, Irene laughs. As she cut a piece from the cake, she held her daughter's chin and spoon-fed her. Irene was deeply amused at how Erza treats the strawberry cheesecakes, she treats them as if they were nemesis. And right now, they were trying to be civil to each other. Her child never liked it, but she tries hard to persuade._

 _They only had a week before Irene leaves for a three-week mission. It was the longest mission she had ever received since Erza was three. She was needed because it was in Ishgar- or Fiore, and it was a very serious matter. She could not decline, of course. It was Zeref who personally gave her the mission, and Zeref after all helped her to conceive Erza. And besides, he's her emperor, and friend._

 _Irene already explained it to Erza, she was used to it since her mother always have missions. But still, she was sad that she won't see her momma in three weeks. That's a very long time for her._

 _The high enchanter placed Erza in her neighbor's care. A woman in her early thirty's with her two children, she's a mage too so she's relieved. She do not trust anybody in the village, but she's friendly with them. If she could only leave Erza in the Alavarez, oh she would. But it'll only make things horrible for Erza, since it was years ago when she last stayed in the castle._

 _Soon, the week ended and Irene departed from her daughter. It actually took them about half an hour to say goodbye to each other, normally it would only take ten but the feeling of not being able to see each other for three weeks do that to you. It only proves their love for each other is so strong._

 _And that love would also ruin Irene._

 _Two weeks and a half had gone by since Irene left from Rosemary village, the place where she and Erza were staying for the past eight months. She had finished the mission with ease. Her travels took about three days, as her destination was literally around the continent from where Rosemary is._

 _As soon as she arrived on the city. She stopped dead in tracks. She felt a similar horrible feeling running to her chest._

 _No_ _._

She arrived at the ashen entrance of the village _._

 _No._

She was surrounded with houses in shambles _._

 _No._

She saw the wizards of the village dead.

 _No._

She saw corpses.

 _No._

She couldn't sense her daughter.

 _With a bloodcurdling scream, Irene Belserion fell to the ground on her knees and all things surround exploded._

 _The mother is gone. Long live, the Scarlet Despair._

* * *

The night is filled with silence as the golden cloud dissipated from the view.

Erza Scarlet stared blankly at the space where the truth was revealed by her... mother. So that was it. She was exhausted. Her eyes were numb with the amount of tears she had shed today. She's just too tired. Numbly, she let the hand push her head to rest upon the woman's chest. She's too tired. She closed her eyes and listened to the beat of her mother's heart.


	14. XIV twelve o' clock

**Hello! Wow, I didn't noticed- this story is already a month a couple of days that I do not want to count since I'm lazy old! Well, congrats to Starlit Sky then. Anyways, I'm really sorry for the late update. Seems like I ran out of ideas, on the contrary I'm reading the Harry Potter series and ironic that I can't come up with anything.** ** _(also it is very strange when you started the book 1 of HP last week and now you're on book 5 and you still can't grasp the reality that they're not 11 years old anymore and now they're 16 like wowie, today's wednesday and Ron wanted to order that firewhiskey but on monday he was just a 14 year old wizard.. yeah, when you're about to finish the series in just almost two weeks do that to your brain.)_** **Oh, and also, I have published a new story named: Of Smoke and Mirror, check it out if you want to (also, it's about Irene and Erza) , you can find it in my profile :) Sorry in advance for the occasional grammatical errors and typos! Now, I'd like to thank you for not giving up on this story and for your lovely reviews. You don't know how much those reviews affect me, so thank you very much for them, with another invisible heart here.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter! R &R!**

* * *

The sun was already up when she woke up. She was laying in a bed, tucked with comforter around her body. She turned to her left, there was remaining heat from it, and she admits it felt nice.

Erza sat up and looked around, she's in her room. She's glad that she is not with her at the moment, for she do not want to deal with her first thing in the morning. But of course, she couldn't run from the problem.

It seems like Irene didn't want to face her as well as there are several of Erza's clothes in the bathroom and breakfast in the coffee table. However, it didn't lasted very long as the high enchanter appeared as Erza was eating her breakfast.

The two avoided each other's gazes as painfully awkward moments had passed. It was even more awkward when apparent distress were displayed on both of their faces.

"Good morning." Irene cleared her throat.

Erza grunted in reply as she drank water.

"So, what do you have in mind, dau-"

The requip mage hissed, "Don't call me that."

It seemed like it touched a nerve, as Irene stares dangerously at the younger redhead.

"I am still your mother, and you ought to respect me, Erza."

The said person just bit their tongue and continued to eat hastily, making a mess of themselves in the process. Irene made a sound on the back of her throat as she instinctively grabbed a napkin and wiped the remaining mess on Erza's face. Realizing what she'd done, Irene staggeringly brought her hand down and leave space between them.

"I want to go back to my guild."

Her voice not soft but not cold too, gave a vibe that forced her to leave no room for objections.

"I see," murmured Irene, "then I shall accompany you way back."

Erza nodded and directed her attention to her meal as Irene quietly exited the room. As she did, the younger redhead observed her in the corner of her eyes with a heavy sigh.

As Irene was walking down the hallway, her ears suddenly ring and she unconsciously jumped a little.

"Jesus, Emperor, you nearly gave me a fright."

"You were supposed to come back, and as planned, with her."

At the mention of her daughter, Irene's mouth went thin.

"Due to some.. circumstances, she won't be. And as your General, Emperor Zeref," Irene then paused, "I propose a plan."

"Then let me hear of it."

It took Irene about an hour or two to convince him, for it was such an unbelievable thing to propose. It was something that is nearly opposite to the everything what the Spriggans wants, but the high enchanter got strong points. Not only she would be receiving advantages but the others too, so Zeref agreed to her plan. It would only be time-limited, but it would be alright.

* * *

It's as if there was a silent agreement between them, Irene went to Erza's room and found her with her packed bag. It was nearly midday so the two started their travel, and to be honest it was painfully awkward and tense, they both felt that way.

"Can't you just 'port us to our places?" asked Erza.

"I could, but the- Emperor informed me of some changes." At the narrowed eyes of her daughter, Irene sighed and rolled her eyes, "Anyways, how would your guild mates feel if their comrade who was missing for four days suddenly appeared out of thin air with a high enchanter with her?"

"They.. would feel your magic power and then think that you must have.. cast a spell or something on me." Erza replied slowly as she understood.

"Exactly."

They didn't tried to make any conversations, only talking if they would go for a break or anything along those lines. It was disappointing and upsetting for Irene since she had long to hug and express her love to her daughter, but due to their situation, she can't and Erza's attitude is a dead giveaway that she do not want to be coddled by anyone, and she's not an exception. For Erza, though, deep inside she really wanted to bond with the woman, but due to her divine stubbornness, she chose not to- for Fairy Tail, that's what she tells herself anyways.

All her life she thought her parents were dead, that she's an orphan. And her- mother, also thought that she was dead. It was quite ironic, her lips unconsciously formed a bitter smile. But oh, why didn't she remembered her very own mother? Eight years spent with her, so why did she forgot? The realization of the significant question felt like a bucket of cold water splashing to her body. How can it be, that she only remembered living at Rosemary for all her life and her neighbors Kagura and Simon? It was a great mystery.

Irene glanced at the younger woman beside her, seemingly lost in deep thoughts. She, too, is lost in her thoughts. Where did Erza went after the attack on their village? How did she survived? She supposed her magic must've had great contribution to it, but still.. She shook her head defiantly, something must've happened that she too cannot explain.

They had gone traveling for about almost three hours when they were approached by an Alvarez car, its chauffeur curtseyed to the Spriggan and told her he was informed to accompany the two. Noticing Erza stiffening, Irene approached her.

"Is it alright if-" Irene tilts her head to the waiting vehicle.

To her surprise, Erza just shrugged and followed her inside the car. They sat on the back seat, and a barrier of sort was blocking the chauffeur's only way of hearing anything from its passengers. Seems like it was planned, Irene narrowed her eyes. Did the Emperor really expected them to have a, ah, heart-to-heart talk and hug it out? Irene scoffed, why do Zeref wanted the two to immediately make up? He must've wanted something, the thought sent shivers down to her spine. Her thoughts were suddenly pulled into a halt when she heard the other redhead beside her speaking.

"Would you mind if you conjure a communication line for me to use?"

"I wouldn't." She then turned to Erza, "But can I ask who are you going to communicate with?"

"My guildmate. I, er, wanted to tell them I'd be back."

Nodding, Irene then waved her wrist and on the process, unconsciously tapped her staff on the ground. Levitating on their space is a what seems like cloud with a surprised face of a raven head boy.

"Whenever I call, it's always you who I managed to talk to first." Erza sighed.

"Well hello to you too, Erza. I'm having a great day, especially when there's a thing that suddenly popped out of mid-air that has your face on it."

The requip mage snickered a little, "I'm glad, Gray. Anyways, I'd just like to inform you guys that I'll be back in a few hours or so."

With the younger redhead lost with communicating with her comrade, Irene couldn't help but to feel her heart clench painfully. It's the first time she ever saw her daughter socialize with her friends. It's bittersweet. The high enchanter tried to turn her attention to the book she found lying beside her.

"..stopped attacking? Why, that's... great. Absolutely great."

Erza let out a happy puff of air, Gray just told her that their enemies stopped attacking. She wonders why. Her heart suddenly hammered loudly in her chest, could it be that-! She looked at the older woman beside her on the corner of her eyes, Irene told her that the Emperor (Zeref) had changes of plans. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, Irene convinced the Dark Wizard to stop the war?

No, that's too much hope. And likely unbelievable, Zeref wouldn't just give in to Irene. Especially now that they had inflicted such suffering to the others. Her hands turned into fists as she thought of it, she just hopes nothing serious happened when she was gone.

"Hey by the way, where are you now?"

"Uh- really far right now, we're just halfway through the middle of the North. But I'm currently riding in a car, if that's what you wanted to know."

His eyebrows rose up, "Car? With who?"

"Oh- um, the woman. Er, remember the woman I told you that saved me? Yeah, she's helping me to get back there." _And I also found out that the said woman is also my mother, and our enemy. Great, right_? Erza sighed inaudibly.

"Really?" Gray awkwardly scratched his head, _yeah he talked with her and he found her weird, but whatever as long as she took care of his comrade, she's fine to him_. "Well, I, Master, and the others just arrived to out meeting place. Would really like to continue our chit-chat but I have a meeting to attend to," he looked sad by the mention of the meeting that it earned him a chuckle from the Titania, "we'll fill you in as soon as you arrive. See you soon, eh?"

"Take notes for me. See you soon, Gray."

As soon as they bid farewells, the conjured cloud dissipated and she was left with silence again. Suddenly, she looked towards her left and saw Irene drifting off to sleep. Erza softened and then instinctively brought up a blanket she found to the woman's chest. Apparently, Irene was a light sleeper as her eyes fluttered once she felt the warmth from the blanket.

"Oh," Irene tried to blink away the sleepiness, "sorry, I think I fell asleep."

Erza put up her hands, "No worries, just- er, continue your nap."

Silence descended upon them again, though it was short when Erza decided to ask something out of the blue.

"Have you had your revenge to those people who were the reason for your family's death?"

Taken aback, Irene just nodded slowly. "Y-Yes, I.. did."

"Good."

It turned silent again but Erza immediately grumbled.

"I was just curious," she shot a glare to the high enchanter, "don't get any ideas."

But Irene just smiled quietly. And Erza found it that she was relieved Irene made those people suffer along their ride.


	15. XV eleventh heir

**Greetings! I had an unfortunate business with what we called, Writer's Block. I apologize dearly for the long wait. Advance apologies for typos and grammatical errors.**

 **Enjoy! R &R!**

* * *

As much as she wanted to rest more in the car, the familiar structure of the Kardia Cathedral came to her view, and much to her shock, the Fiore palace beside it. Their ride came into a halt as she peered over the window.

"I suppose this is our stop." A voice beside her said.

Trying, and failing, to pay her no mind Erza pushed the door open and stepped out. Her boot felt the rocky soil as she looked around with her hand on her brow. _Where are they?_ She thought.

"...others were furious and disappointed but they managed."

Erza turned to her left and saw that the chauffeur and Irene were talking, she can't help but to be curious about their conversation.

"Is that so?" The redhead was obviously deep in thought, "Oh, whatever- we'll be fine here chauffeur, you can take your leave now."

The said chauffeur nodded and bade the Spriggan her farewell and drove away. Erza quickly turned to her right when she saw Irene looking at her.

"Let's go now, shall we?" The high enchanter did an un-lady like (and unIrene-like) jerking of her thumb to the cathedral, in which they went into.

As Erza was about to push open the doors, she felt the warm hand of Irene on her shoulders. She turned her head to her and threw her a puzzled look.

Irene sighed and tucked a loose strand of her scarlet hair behind her ear, "Your guildmates would mind seeing me, it was enough when I talked to them-" she suddenly winced as she remembers breaking the lacrima, she then cleared her throat "anyways, I'd be going now."

Shocked was evident on Erza's face, "You're leaving?"

Irene rose her eyebrow at her daughter, and Erza felt her face heat up. Last time she was furiously fighting off Irene and now she must've looked like she's pleading for her to not leave her. The requip mage immediately composed herself and spoke,

"I mean, I thought you were going with me.."

She chuckled amusedly, "And what? Have your guild to suddenly go hysterical and attack me? Oh, ho, no. As much as that would entertain me, I have other plans to attend to."

Inwardly, Erza was disappointed. But she put up a face and nodded, "Alright, well- see 'ya."

And without looking back, she pushed the two doors open and walked in.

* * *

Irene is bored. A silent yawn escapes her and she peers beneath her lashes to figure out what the absolute hell is she doing in their headquarters. Zeref is away doing God knows what, and the other five Spriggans who attended were total dunderheads.

"Why the fuck is the war postponed?!" Ajeel barked with anger as he slammed his fist down on his sand-made throne.

Dimaria glared at her colleague as she polish one of her almighty battle axe, the war empress has been in a very foul mood (Neinhart informed her) ever since Brandish disappeared. "Well why don't you ask our Emperor that essential question yourself? I didn't saw you complaining when he was telling that to us face-to-face."

The tired enchantress and rose her eyebrow at the blonde, she really is in a very foul mood. Irene cranes her neck and sighed in delight as her chair tilted backwards, allowing her to peacefully lay on her back. The redhead closed her eyes and muttered a few incantations to make the room's atmosphere comfortable and peaceful. Unfortunately, her colleagues are determined to ruin her day.

"God forbid you to open your mouth in my presence Dimaria, or I'll stuff your trap with these sweets." said Ajeel while conjuring a ball of his glistening golden sand.

Glaring again, Dimaria placed her battle axe on the floor and picked up a flail. "No thanks. Those dusts are unworthy of being near my weapons, let alone me."

She heard Jacob muttering something along the lines of "insufferable imbeciles who can't do anything but to fight" under his breath, she was sure that August heard him as he shot a warning glare at the man.

Irene just sighed as she watched the fight between the two unfolding in front of her. She would rather tend to a sick sniveling Peruvian Vipertooth than to try and stay on their headquarters. Speaking of dragons, her mind wandered to dearest and kindest Mr. Acnologia who is probably lost in the middle of the ocean, somewhere somewhere there. He's interesting. Since she convinced the dark wizard to postpone the war even for a little time, let's try if she can convince him to let her invite Mr. Acnologia for a warm cup of tea and biscuits. The thought alone made her chuckle dryly.

Her thoughts then went to her daughter, so she finally got what she wanted. Back with the Fairy brats. Her magic, however, she nearly forgot about. Irene waved her wrist and muttered a few incantations again under her breath to restore the younger redhead's magic power, and sure enough, she felt as if Erza gasped in surprise against her chest as she restored it. Strange, Irene thought. But her mind went back to the little fairy, how long will she need the time before Irene goes back to collect her? And- what if Erza didn't even thought of her getting picked up by Irene again? That sent adrenaline rushing to her veins. It's a rather unpleasant mess she got herself into.

Irene's main reason to stay in the headquarters was because she needs to keep track of the other Shields' actions and if any of them would attack the Fairies- and also, she's too tired to go camping out in the sun when there's an adequate room enough for all of them to stay in.

"..where did the Emperor's bright idea of postponing the war came from?!"

The high enchanter raised her head and propped her chin against the back of her hand. " _Me._ "

The way she drawled that single word affected the remaining Spriggans in the room as she winced inwardly when they all shouted in unison.

Irene Belserion sighed and shook her head, it was a better idea to just slumber in peace than to be smart with her colleagues.

* * *

As the giant steel doors opened, she was immediately engulfed in a multi-way embraces from familiar people.

"H-Hey!" Erza blushed when she felt at least nine of her comrades attacking her with bear hugs.

"Really, Erza. You didn't know how anxious _these_ idiots were when they were waiting for that woman to go away so that they can welcome you." Her brown eyes met with Gray's dark blue eyes as he smirked at her.

Stunned, Erza just nodded unconsciously to the people who greeted her. She wished that they won't crush her air way much through their bone-crushing hugs.

Soon enough, the crowd dissipated leaving Wendy, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and surprisingly- Cana.

"So Erza, what's her name?" Cana asked, Erza smiled and answered.

"Irene B-" she suddenly remembered that her guildmates knew about the most powerful woman of the Spriggan, since they in fact provided that information to her. "Irene Beauxbatons." She suddenly felt her face grew warm as she remembered that the two French words combined complicatedly represented Irene's beautiful staff.

She was confused as to why Wendy was blushing along with Lucy and- Natsu?! Cana and Gray just shrugged while Happy happily munched on a salmon.

"What's wrong?" The requip mage asked clearly puzzled and concerned.

"N-Nothing! Of-Of course nothing's w-wrong! Haha! I-I mean you can love anybody! Of course, haha! It was j-just a shock, hehe." The stellar mage stuttered as she blushed harder.

' _What is happening here_..' Erza looked at her guildmates weirdly.

"Yeah Erza, there's nothing wrong. J-Just a big shock for us! We should celebrate! W-When Wendy and I.." Natsu just suddenly turned beet red and fell to the ground unceremoniously with Lucy. Even Natsu stuttered! Is the world coming into an end and was she not informed?

The requip mage turned expectantly to the sky dragon slayer and rose her brow, waiting for an explanation.

Wendy stuttered and blushed harder, "Um, Erza-san. W-What Natsu-san is trying to say is.. well, I mean nothing's wrong of course, hah. I mean- what I'm trying to say is- you and Ms. Irene.. um, yes you two- Natsu-san and I picked up your s-scent in her.. Ah!" The poor girl just suddenly squeaked and covered her reddening face.

Cana just took a swig from her flask and said, "What the three are trying to say is- congrats. We didn't expected you to come back with a girlfriend and when the two slayers smelled you in that girlfriend of yours, images of you two having a "much hearty and _touchy_ bonding moment" with each other before you cone back here filled our minds- unfortunately, Wendy's too."

The ice mage shrugged and smirked at the redhead, "Yeah- congrats Erza. Mira's gonna have a fit that she didn't saw your girlfriend when she comes back here."

Erza Scarlet's jaw dropped to the ground. She suddenly saw stars floating around the Cathedral as she processed their words to her.

"Sh-She's n-n-not- I-Irene is not my g-girlfriend!" The almighty Titania spluttered, her face already turning the shade of her (and apparently, _girlfriend's_ too) hair.

 _Oh my God_ , Erza thought, _I'm dying_. Cana and Gray had surprise written on their faces. _That's my fucking mother._ She felt even more dying.

"Oh- she's not? Sorry Erza, we just assumed that she's your girlfriend because- y'know, your scent in her." Cana laughed as she turned her back to proceed to the others, "Welcome back Erza!"

Luckily, she didn't need to explain to the fallen trio because all she heard from them were:

"Y-Y-Yeah my n-nose has been acting strange for the p-past days! Haha!"

"A-At least we are saved from M-Mira's interrogations! H-Hah!"

"Erza-san and M-Ms. Irene must be standing r-really close to each other s-so that must be it then!

Suddenly, she felt something coursing through her veins. She gasped in surprise, her magic! Erza grinned as she tried to summon a sword, and was delighted to be able to.

Then, the redhead proceeded to their Master who was sitting in one of the make-shift table.

"Ah- Erza, you're back. Come here child, we have a lot to talk about."

"Greetings, Master."

The redhead bowed and smiled as she was back again with her family, and her father-figure. Makarov then mentioned her to follow him inside one of the Cathedral's back room. Inside it was a long green table with several chairs beside it. It looks like a meeting place. Makarov then sat down and Erza follows suit.

"I will cut the formalities, I hope you don't mind that child." Erza nodded and the Master continued, "While you were gone, we had several meetings and such things. We have discovered something.

"This Board only consisted of Fairy Tail members, though there is another Board for all the other guilds participating in the war. Mirajane, Gray, and I are the representatives from our guild. Sting, Rogue, Minerva and Yukino are as of Sabertooth. You get the pattern. Anyways, Natsu has been a big help for us. Due to him, we discovered something, extraordinary and powerful."

Makarov then flicked his wrist to reveal something on the table. Suddenly, the table creaked and with a burst out of light, there came a map of some sort with several random items and symbols etched on it.

"We discovered a bloodline. A lost and ancient one. Bloodline so powerful and ancient, that it can defeat the Spriggan 12 themselves." Erza then looked away, "They have lost magic coursing through their veins, lost magic that were passed to them by their ancestors. The bloodline is one thousand and eight hundred years old."

Erza perked up, "A thousand and eight hundred years old? How can the heir of it still be alive?"

"Yes- the Heir. Only the direct Heir of it can access to that ancient and lost magic. It seems impossible, but do remember the part of 'lost and ancient' magic, child. We believe that there was one remaining direct descendant of the bloodline. Not much i formation about the said bloodline but we're still researching for it."

"And who do you think is this 'remaining descendant' Master?"

Makarov smiled and his eyes seemed to twinkle for a moment, "It was believed that they were all "pure bloods" or simply Royals and, something more incredible. Their ancestor is Severitius Articculus. Died at the age of 394, his last living descendant- Lemus Articculus, disappeared some time in thousand and forty. But twenty to thirty years ago, there showed the Articculus mark."

When Makarov stopped Erza quickly gathered this time to ask him questions, "Master, why do you refer to it as a thousand and eight hundred- like that. Do you not know their Year?"

A grim look suddenly displayed on the Fairy Tail's Master, "No, Erza. It is really a thousand and eight hundred. Because their time didn't existed."

Startled, Erza stared at him for explanations. "Yes, their time didn't existed. But they were _there_. Just like I have mentioned, it is ancient and old. We have not gathered much informations either, yet. But I assure you, the Articculus bloodline is there."

"I don't understand." She whispered, "How are we supposed to find that _one living Heir_?"

"It might seem impossible," Makarov then touched a what seems like a family tree of bloodline, "but they're alive. Miraculously, the last living Heir is alive."

Erza stared at the bloodline as she listened to her Master.

"The Articculus were divided into seven descendants division, each having families, counts- we do not know. One division left when the others disappeared in the history, the last division we are certain that has only one family, and that last of them is the one who we're looking for."

"The Last of Lord Severitius, Draco Regium, The Ancient One, The Eleventh Heir!"

And without warning, there was a sudden golden beacon that shoots up to the sky and everything went quiet.


	16. XVI the ten hours

**And our favorite horrible writer is back! *dusts off the rotten tomatoes away from the story's screen***

 **This update was supposed to be out back on 29 but alas, the internet connection forbids me. (actually, + my extremely peculiar naps that takes about 6 hours twice a day, oops) Anyways.**

 **I hope some of you read my other story, Of Smoke and Mirror, because I added a new segment there (and will be here too!) called.. Discussions! Last time, we discussed about .. um. 514 was it? (im such a great writer, forgetting what my chapters contained, wow) and my theory and wonderings about Irene and Erza.**

 **And, here's our Discussions!**

 **Warning: Contains words unsuitable for minorities. And SPOILERS, obviously.**

 **PS- whoa, broke my record of longest chapter in any of my stories so far (last one, last update with my story, OS &M lol)**

* * *

 **DISCUSSIONS**

* * *

 **If you have long since given up to this, I understand where you're coming from. NOT UNLIKE SOMEONE *grumbled at manga-Erza***

 **Kidding, we're not gonna spend our time bashing on dearest Erza (even tho I love doing that to my favorite characters!)**

 **Right. 515.**

 **Irene haunts me.**

 **That's all.**

 **She haunts me with her pain and sufferings, it was so haunting for me that I felt drained for straight 7 hours and I'm not even joking.**

 **And something I could really say is: I understand where Irene is coming from.**

 **Imagine serving a kingdom. Your kingdom. Protecting them at all costs, sacrificing for them (her political marriage is one) and bestowing them with everything that could make them happy and safe. Fighting for them with dragons, and just have them to betray you.**

 **Undergoing torture, beatings, and humiliation (and quite possibly, health neglection, etc) for three long years while staying kind and hopeful for the humanity and pining for your child, yearning to have them in your arms. Those were enough to drive someone insane, and we haven't added up her emotional feelings.**

 **And then your pathetic excuse of a husband announces your execution date. Clap clap. And then he proceeds to sadistically tear your belly apart just to torment you.**

 **Righty, that's the part where I get the chilliest chills. I'll add le thoughts about them in the bottom of this. (and bash that pathetic worm too! yay!)**

 **I'm not saying that everyone of Dragnof kingdom didn't felt anything for their Queen but if they did felt grateful for her, and loved her, surely they would go out of their comfort zones and fight for their queen? Their queen who is with _child_. **

**And you know, there must be some intelligent mage there in the kingdom that could have figured that their queen must've did something with her magic that halted her child's growth. If they did felt grateful enough.**

 **(wow can u believe im actually still extremely upset with it, i just realized it thru my writings wowie)**

 **And then the pre-human physique part.**

 **Poor Irene. My sweet child, I wish I could jump into the manga and protect that little cinnamon bun.**

 **(probably will get killed bc i just called the pre-Spriggan a little cinnamon bun, but hey)**

 **And of course, you can just imagine how I choked with feels when the thought of how kind¡Irene (motherly¡ loving¡ whaTEVER FLAVOR OF IRENE THAT YOU COULD DESCRIBE OF WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER) felt when she saw what her desperate self did to her beloved child because she rlly wants to be a human again.**

 **Speaking of. She spiraled too deep that the want and need to become human again burned on her mind that nothing could've stopped her. Even her love for her child. That's how insane she was. And that's how I died for the hundredth time.**

 **Anyw.. 516.**

 **eRZA**

 **are u kidding me**

 **ERzA , sweet merlin erza.**

 **feel sympathy for your mother you *about to insert what is the best term i could think of but then thought how it would've come offensive to others who cant accept it as a joke so i'll settle for this one* child.**

 **Ah yes, of course Erza hates Irene. She probably felt as if Irene has no righteousness (hey who could blame the woman, she's insane) whatsoever because her only will was to have her true human body back and she can't be strong to overcome her *insert the word i forgot here because of my limited insights***

 **But you know what. I'm pretty amazed at Irene. She was insane to the point that you could've compared her to Bellatrix Lestrange but got ahold of herself to become such a powerful being with such cunningness and intelligence. Kyaah.**

 **And speaking of getting ahold of herself! It's wondering time! ◉‿◉ (and i too need to get ahold of myself because it's currently 3:42am rn and probably by the time i finish this it'll be 4:30 or smthing)**

 **How did Irene got ahold of herself?**

 **Now, I'm not exactly intelligent with the terms and whatsoevers with psychologic things (hey thats why im taking that course in a few years bc im an ambitious little apple) and I probably came offensive and insulting to people out there who has relatives or know someone or is one that is mentally unstable. I apologize for that, by the way. BUT, any insane person has their limitations.**

 **I wouldn't exactly describe Irene as like Alice Longbottom who is unfortunately really unstable (because of someone, please read the Harry Potter books bc i'm probably giving out spoilers) and not exactly like Bellatrix too, but I think she's holding on. So which begs the question, how did she got ahold of herself?**

 **It must be something deep. Or maybe I'm just wasting our time here because Irene wasn't that insane (reference, the way she thinks /about the enchantment! and her vast knowledge!/ on the page after that nightmare-fuel illustration of her about her human child). It's probably 90% the latter.**

 **Right. I'm gonna stop this nattering of mine.**

 **Wendy Belserion..**

 **so,, yeah.**

 **I wonder what'll happen to Irene's real body?**

 **(HIRO GIVE IRENE BACK HER BODY I MISS HER)**

 **And can someone revive me? Because I lost five lives when I saw Irene without her hat.**

 **(SHE! LOOKS! ADORABLE! AND! SO! GORGEOUS!)**

 **And also, I think I choked to death because she looks so cool with the blood running down her face.**

 **Anyways moving on since I have nothing to say about Wendy Belserion.**

 **Also Erza (and Wendy u smol child) of all the places you could've hit your mother it has to be on her stomach, of course. THINK ABOUT HOW KIND¡MOTHER WOULDVE FELT WHEN SHE REALIZED HOW YOU PARALLELED WITH YOUR FATHER okay im done.**

 **Time check brought to you by the writer's country- 4:01am oops**

 **It seems like due to the time and my limited vocabulary rn bc i feel so something our Discussion has come to an end.**

 **Now the important thing is:**

 **What do you think?**

 **(Also I'm not adding the promised reaction about the chilliest chill and the bashing of that pathetic worm, I know I'll just bore you, heh.)**

 **And speaking of reaction. This is probably more like a reaction segment instead of discussions, sighs.**

 **Anyw. We have come to an end!**

 **^^ I apologize dearly for stuffs that didn't made sense and the typos and grammatical errors. I probably fell asleep. vvv (down, too)**

* * *

 **And as always, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter! R &R!**

 **Happy New Year, peeps!**

* * *

 _DRO NKI GSVV CYYX MYW_

* * *

The golden beacon of light shoot up to the sky.

The sky, naturally bright with the clouds, turned to a hazy hue of purple but immediately turned into black with a blast. It was eerily quiet. And eerily dark.

It would take someone a full ten seconds to realize that the world was taken off colors. The birds flying in the sky looks so.. gray. The quiet swaying leaves of the trees looks green, but gray at the same time. In fact, everything seemed normal. Except the colors were less bright and.. colorful. It seems like the vibrancy of the world was gone. It was a gray world.

It was a strange sight to see. Anywhere you look on, it's just really gray, bland. The air around them is wide, unexplainably wide. And at the same time, heavy yet fresh. The towering buildings of course didn't protected its inhabitant from the sights. Both the uncountable swarm of soldiers and the people outside were astounded by what they see.

It didn't went unnoticed to the others too.

* * *

"What was that?" Erza's guard went up when they saw the golden beacon shooting up to the sky through the single window in the room a moment ago, and then everything went dark for some reason. She helped Master Makarov up to his feet and looked around to inspect anything unusual.

"It seems like our Eleventh Heir was affected by our announcement." Makarov stated and then headed towards the oak door.

"What do you mean?" Erza's eyes widened with alarm, "You don't mean.. Surely, Master!" An apprehensive look was all it took to answer her questions.

The requip mage shook her head in disbelief, "So.. The Eleventh Heir knew? They knew we're looking for them? Just because we announced their titles?"

"Possibly, child." He pushed the doors open, "That light we just saw, it's a trademark of the Articculus family. And possibly.. They're just near."

And he went out. Leaving a wide-eyed Erza frozen in the middle of the room.

* * *

The headquarters was a mess. Some of Brandish's weapons sprawled on the ground, some of the chairs were thrown across the room. The Spriggans were standing up in alarm, their guards up, waiting for an attack or something.

Jacob looked to their male general for an order or for any informations, but August merely shook his head and turned to Irene, who is in a state neither shock nor alarm but it was clear that she was wroth.

A silent conversation went through the generals as August nodded to look at the windows, the supposed green land was a bit bland. A bit bland may be an understatement as Neinhart, usually collected, paused in disbelief to look at it too.

The Spriggans were busy with their own business, probably sleuthing for anything they may found, but the high enchantress knew their efforts would be fruitless. Irene casted a quick enchantment around the headquarters, sealing them all but her shut inside.

The last descendant of Lord Severitius, huh? It seems like someone knew about it too apart from her. Irene strode across the room towards the stone door, nobody should know of it. But alas, it was too late. The Articculus mark has affected the area.

And she would find _it_ first before anyone.

* * *

"..ear not, brats. We'd figure it out. Nothing a little falling out from the color department will stop us from focusing on winning this war!"

A cheer followed from Master Makarov's little speech as Erza quietly exited from the meeting room. She was still befuddled by the thought of the so significant Articculus heir, but she won't let that get through her.. much.

"Hey Erza!" She saw Lucy waving to her in the corner of her eye and she walked towards them, putting up a forced smile on her face. She tried to just casually join them at a wooden table to share a meal.

"So Erza," Gray started, "want to tell us anything about your misadventure?"

Her heart hammered on her chest at the thought of them knowing something she would really really mind. It only calmed down after observing their looks, lacking of suspicion as she would thought it contained.

"Nothing much to tell. Irene and I.. went along. She was a mage, y'know? Maybe she could help us in the war, and she said she would." She inwardly chuckled sardonically, "She helped me recover. And then we parted ways, but I trust that I'll meet her sooner or later." _Especially once we face the most powerful woman of the Spriggan 12_. She didn't add the last bit, obviously.

Thankfully, her team mates didn't asked anymore and head straight to the business. Apparently, they knew of the ancient magic business too. They continued talking about it, causing Erza's annoyance to grow.

"Why is nobody even bothering with the fact that our surroundings is affected by some magical power that might endanger us?!" Erza snapped.

Carla, probably the only one who seemed to care like Erza, spoke, "Master's speech calmed the others down. But I'm still bothered with it, who knows what it might bring?"

"Same here, but really Erza, you're pretty stressed what's gotten into you?" Natsu asked, earning several nods of approval from his team mates.

"Never you mind." Erza looked away, "I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be this relaxed about this.. this event. I think I'm going out for fresh air."

Without even bothering to listen to any of her team mates, the requip mage stood up and strode across the Cathedral quietly and went out.

It was even more terrifying.

She suppressed a loud gasp as she stared on her surroundings with mixed disbelief and horror. The former took the upper hand from her emotions as she just shook her head and walked away from the Cathedral.

Erza did her best to not examine her surroundings, it would bring even more emotions and thoughts to her mind. As if the raging thoughts and emotions weren't enough. She will admit, she _is_ stressed.

Stressed due to several reasons. The information about the ancient magic, the pressure she didn't know how she got from her family, this blasphemy against nature herself, and the biggest one- her mother.

She saw the soldiers about forty feet away from her but she still hid behind a boulder even farther from her position when she discovered them. She needs to collect herself and her thoughts. Maybe the idea of fresh air was a bad idea, seeing it only stressed her even more.

But she just grit her teeth in concentration and started to arrange her thoughts. _Settle your issue with the ancient magic_ , she heard a whisper coming from her mind and she agreed.

That bloody family and its ancient magic is the reason behind all of this animosity. The unnerving feeling she gets from the eerie surroundings and atmosphere, it's because of that Heir. Speaking of, they could be anywhere.

And anyone.

Erza shivered at the thought. Not only it proves that it was going to be a difficult task of finding them but also terrifying. She did her best to move on from the Heir to the actual magic. What kind of magic makes a beacon of light shoot up to the sky and transfigured the whole world? Ancient one. Lost and very powerful, which makes it both a weapon and a shield. They just have to gain the Heir's trust before their enemy could even be informed of it, and quite possibly the Spriggans already knew of it. That was another unnerving thought.

Knowing that she'll just get her thoughts even messier Erza moved on to the next thought: Her comrades.

She loves them, quite obviously. They're the only family she had since she escaped from the Tower of Heaven. She's forever grateful to them, for giving her an amazing life and experiences, joys and hardships, and most especially the love and the amazing connection between them all.

Would she suffer for them? Already did and still do- but yes. Would she die for them? Yes. Would she choose to lose everything just to keep them safe? Yes. Would she let them get away from ruining her strawberry cheesecake? Obviously not- but she doubt anyone would be suicidal enough to do that. Would she comfort them amidst all her own problems? Yes. Would she confide about her feelings for her mother? She doesn't know, and she doesn't know whether she could trust herself to tell them about her mother's identity.

They wouldn't want to attack her. They would respect that she's their comrade's last living relative (and heaviest, mother) and will try their best to avoid her. And Erza doesn't know whether she would like it or not. They would protest that they wouldn't want to engage her in a battle when she'll tell them to brush it off and just try to win the war.

Erza then realized how the biggest issue about Irene is also about her comrades. No, she wouldn't think of that way. She wouldn't think that she feels that she's forced to be with her comrades (her family, in the first place!) than to be with her own mother- no. Definitely no. All those years and memories with them, the feelings just wouldn't be tainted just because of a mere woman, even if the said woman is her mother, she met a few days ago. _And yet, she felt pressured because of her family_.. No! Erza emitted a high pitched frustrated scream and her fists banged to the hard ground and felt it crack underneath her.

She growled in anger as a mental image of her and Irene in a tight embrace filled her mind. She's not a child to be coddled with. She won't give in to the other redhead, Irene can't bring back the time they lost together, and she most certainly won't receive a _hug_ from her.

She despises that woman. Despised her for making her mind feel conflicted. Making her think this way, and abandoning her. Her face formed a scowl as she felt her eyes suddenly sting because of the tears she certainly does not want on her eyes appeared. It's not her fault that the village she left Erza on was attacked by the worshippers of Zeref. Zeref! Does she even know that his supporters were the reason they were separated?! Probably! But she can't bear to _forgive_ her.

It's her fault, too. She never went looking for her _beloved_ daughter. If she did loved her so much as she did said, she would've searched the entire world just for her. _Liar_ , she spat.

And yet her anger crumbled as she remembered the warm brown eyes filled with love gazed upon her.

Her lips trembled, betraying her. She doesn't want to feel emotional. No, not today at least. She tried to wipe the remaining tears falling on her cheeks and regulated her breathing. Emphasis on the word _tried_.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when she heard an unfamiliar voice, yet she felt as if she should trust it, inside her mind. It said words, words that made her mind feel fuzzy, and she closed her eyes and listened to it until darkness enveloped her.

* * *

The staff was illusioned. She Illusioned it so that it could blend with its surroundings. Everything was dull, and so Irene decided that her lovely staff with its natural hues remaining would attract a lot, and lot of attention. It would literally stand out. And she has a strange feeling about why it does that.

However, she paid no mind to it. She needed to find it before the one who startled the Articculus magic finds it first. Irene was angry. She made damn sure that nobody could ever find out about that bloody bloodline other than her. She, shockingly, has no intention in using the family's magic- as she have decided long ago before she destroyed the last (at least she thought was the last) remaining proof that the Articculus family existed, and so's to their _wonderful_ magic, that she would only try to use it when things comes to worst and she and Erza is in grave danger. Of course, that never came as she was separated from her daughter.

So she wonders, who is the special person who'd face her anger and how did they found out about it?

She could only think of one person who knew of it (as she confided it to them) but they were immediately crossed-out of the suspicion list. They're trusted, and they made an Oath that they would never tell someone about it. Her Emperor Zeref was the only one who knew of it, and she trusts that he wouldn't betray her. Not unless..

"No." Irene heaved a sigh crossing between disbelief and resignment, there's only one person the Emperor has loved more than Mavis herself, but surely..?

Irene shook her head, the Emperor wouldn't give out the sacred information to his younger brother, would he?

 _Perhaps if you would stop your unnecessary doubts toward your Emperor, your friend, you would get to the bottom of this... dilemma._ Irene thought to herself and followed her own advice.

The high enchantress summoned a giant eye in the sky, quickly scolding herself and immediately enchanting the producement of her magic to blend with its surrounding. Satisfied, she gazed around to see anything.. unusual.

When she didn't saw anything out of place, she then looked around for a marble Cathedral and quietly inspected the occupants of it through the windows. She was successful however her target was nowhere in sight. Her eyes narrowed and she cancelled out her magic.

And where's her lovely daughter? She admits, the producement of the Articculus' magic is what her main concern, and even though her daughter's capability of protecting herself is worth August's applaud, she still needs to see how dangerous it is and to protect her little Erza from it.

She then started to fly towards her north while surveying her surroundings at the same time. The producement of it might take shape of something scarring, and even though that might give her a laugh she needs to make sure it won't interfere with the war.

As far as she knew, the startlement of the lost magic caused by the wretched person might've brought something that had been loathed or did something that hurt (or another emotion, but mainly as far as she knew it was by those two emotions) the Heir.

The disappearance of vibrancy from the world was just an ounce of magic from the bloodline's lost magic. She knew it would be temporarily, and when she defeats the producement of the startlement (as she begins to call it) of the Heir, the easier it is for her to breathe properly as nothing could interfere with her plans.

 _As long as I can get the Sword of the Articculus clan and finish off the producement, it'll be all fine as the colors taken by the being will be back and I can hunt the accursed brat who knew of the information_. Irene thought, _Perfect_.

Now all she has to do is to think properly and figure out what was the possible things the Heir must've summoned. It could've been a person for all she knew that they accidentally summoned, but it'll be much easier that way since she knew how strange it will be to see someone wearing something so out of place from the battlefield.

But of course she waited until a soft buzzing went through her mind and a surge of the lost magic to her veins, and then she slit her palm open and trailed after the seemingly levitating scent of her blood in the air.

The producement has arrived.

* * *

With her seemingly heavy eyelids fluttering groggily, the limited vision for her is not helping with the screams of her battle instinct. Heaving a tired sigh, Erza Scarlet decided to open her eyes for good and remember what just transpired.

Eyes narrowed, she examined her surroundings until she remembered falling asleep randomly, the unexplainable feeling she got and then the exhaustion that followed. Erza stretched her limbs and brushed off the dirt from her skirt and stood up.

The world, unfortunately, is still drained of its vibrancy. She was about to head back to the Cathedral when she felt something hammering on her chest. Gasping loudly, she grasped her chest as if she was in pain and nearly stumbled forward.

And then she saw it.

Her whole body stiffened and her eyes widened in fear as she took in the sight of a monster covered with cobalt scales, sharp and long claws, and angry, malevolent yellow slits, staring right at her own terrified eyes.

Her scream went unheard with the dragon's loud, mighty roar.

* * *

With all these things happening to her, Irene was strangely calm. She admits, if her mind is into the mother business, she would be very emotional. But she's already collected. She has strangely went back to her own, Spriggan self as soon as she arrived at the headquarters. And the terrifying thing is, Irene felt fine.

She's one to be prim and graceful, she chuckled. Having to be always at her best and collected. Although there are frequent moments with her colleagues and life that she's almost.. carefree, and teaseful. Yes, she's sly and quite vain with her words, but she's refined. The redhead has quite the temper but she has patience with those who she thinks are worthy for.

But right now, she's really really calm. Yes, it's not like everyday you'd follow your own scent of blood in the air and you have gone through many, many peculiar things and still be calm about it, but it was too strange. Suspicious, quite.

Irene's slow growing paranoia on her chest was mixed with other emotions. Nonchalance, annoyance, anger, and worry. The three are understandable, but the latter was something she has separated from the others' reason. The worry was of a mother's; any mother would feel worried for their child, who is missing in a battlefield where there is/ real and extreme danger for them.

Her train of thoughts were pulled into a halt when her breath hitches as she realized something. Of course.

The enemy would've known about it.

That nosy guild would've known about it.

Fairy Tail would've known about it.

 _And Erza would've known about it._

Gritting her teeth in self-directed anger, she balled her palms in fist, not caring for the stinging pain, the rush of blood because of the sudden pressure resulted for an alarming amount of the crimson liquid to pour out of her fist and trickled down, but she paid it no mind.

 _How could she have been so stupid?_

She flew so swiftly that any of the people who had the chance to see her could only see scarlet blur as she pass from them.

And then she arrived.

It was quite a sight to behold.

* * *

Her mind screams at her to requip and battle and run, but she cannot move her limbs. She was frozen on her spot, like a deer caught in headlights. Only in much, much worse situation.

A loud pound from her heart was registered to her mind as she stared at the dragon's paw, raised in the air as it then swiped towards her, its sharp claws right at her face.

* * *

A dragon.

A heavy-looking dragon with spikes at the end of its tail, and angular horns prodding on its temple. With its paw raised in the air, ready to attack, aiming directly at. her. daughter.

And then she swooped in, light-speed and holding her daughter by the waist, completely avoiding the beast's claws now stuck on the earth with a crack.

Irene pushed her daughter's body toward a stone structure, examining her for any signs of injuries and whatnot. Time slowed down as Irene took in the image of tears on her daughter's eyes, and as she blinked, time went back to normal as they heard the dragon's roar behind them.

Wasting no time, Irene clutched Erza's head and pushed it on her chest, both for comfort and protection, as her Illusioned staff tapped against the earth and sent rows of giant fireballs to the dragon.

As the turned to face the dragon fully, Irene knew. She knew what part this dragon did to cause the Heir great heart break. Chuckling darkly, she stared right ahead at its slits. How could she not know _this_ dragon? Especially, since she knew the Heir personally.

Irene then wrapped her arms around Erza tightly, knowing what would happen next. With her staff on her side and her daughter's body sticking to her tightly, the high enchantress kicked her heels to the ground as she jumped and did a somersault as the ends of her braid missed the beast's swiping paw.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Irene formed a fist and smirked as her palm opened and at the same time, her explosions did their job to the beast's feet. She then sent a wave of offensive magic towards the beast's stomach, smirking again as she enchanted the incoming waves' power, it turning iridescent as its nauseating atmosphere was made visible and hit the dragon.

As she continued attacking the infuriated dragon, her other hand was running its gloved fingers at Erza's scarlet hair while she hums a quiet tune she used to sing to her little daughter. Another wave of magic, but this time it came from above and was acid. The attacking redhead's lips curled a little as she heard an agonized growl from the dragon.

"Mom?"

Her heart skipped a beat, "Yes, baby?"

"I thought I was gonna die.."

A choked sob was heard below her.

"Shh," Irene whispered, "I'll always protect you."

And she kissed her daughter's forehead.

Irene knew what she needs to do next. Retrieve the Asthania from its home, and slay the producement. She closed her eyes as she felt herself pressed against an invisible heavy wall, her body warping on its entrance, and then she felt Asthania, her bloodied fingers nearly holding the handle of the sword. _Almost there_ , Irene thought, _Almost.._

A loud roar went through the state of place she is in, and then she felt herself forcefully warped back to earth, she hissed in frustration as she opened her eyes and saw the dragon being attacked by lances.. ice lances.

Irene cursed loudly and was about to charge into the dragon when she felt Erza shift underneath her. She cast a quick glance at her daughter and she withdraw with shock. There, Erza was holding the platinum-encrusted sword on her hand. The giant diamond on its hilt shone brightly as the light touched it, and the golden handle grew warm as it felt the familiar magic on Erza's hand.

The younger redhead shoot a confused look to her mother but Irene just shook her head, she then casted her Eye Magic and gazed to see who was interfering with her business. What she saw only made her curse loudly again, startling the redhead beside her. Of course, it has to be the goddamn brats again, of course.

"Wh-What do I do with this sword?"

Irene looked to her daughter with a frown, "Well, since you were the one who pulled out Asthania from that blasted dimension due to reasons unknown, seems like you'd be the one to slay the producement." She then jerked her thumb toward the dragon.

"What?!" Erza shook her head, "You really think this sword will be able to slay that dragon?"

"Obviously, seeing it's the very sword of the Articculus clan." Irene deadpanned.

The requip mage then gaped at her mother, "You.. know about it too? W-Wait- tell me, how did that dragon came here? And what about the world?"

Irene's patience was wearing thin, but she just counted up to five and answered, "Yes, and that nosy guild of yours is in great trouble from me once I finish this Artcicculus business. Since you startled the Heir, it's the producement of it. It's not really the dragon from the past, more like.. a _Historia_. And don't worry, it'll all be back to normal once we slay the producement." As Erza opened her mouth, Irene immediately interrupted, "No more questions."

The fairy grumbled underneath her breath but she continued to inspect the sword on her hand. Satisfied, she then looked to Irene for instructions.

"We will try to get close to it, and I trust you have an armor for dragon slaying?" Erza nods as Irene smirks, "Well then, I'll still enchant it for extra protection. As we get close to it, I'll start the connection with the Heir and you do your job. Just make sure you deliver the last attack on its chest, alright? You _will_ wait for my signal to attack, unless you want your efforts to be fruitless."

"Right. Is that all?" Erza asked.

"I'm going to cast a protection spell on myself. It'll last for about ten minutes, I suppose you'll need to finish it sooner than we thought. I found.. and error in the system."

Believing her daughter would want an explanation, Irene just made a gesture that explains no room for questioning, surprisingly though Erza just shrugged.

Irene spoke again, "Your guildmate's sudden interference is worth to bring up. I trust you'll take care of them? Wouldn't want them to get hurt, yes?"

The younger redhead nodded, and Irene spoke again, "This brings up to my mind- do your best to not interrupt me during my implementation of the connection, alright? It'll just make this business even difficult and last longer."

Satisfied with her daughter's affirmation, Irene then grabbed her by the shoulder and the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

The five mages- seven, if you include the two exceeds, were oblivious to the observing eyes of the high enchantress as they unwillingly stepped out of the battlefield and continuing to the Cathedral, with the possibility of them reporting to their guild master.

As soon as they were out of vision range, Irene stepped out from her illusion orb and went up to her daughter. Standing boldly beneath the flying dragon in the sky.

"Remember what I've told you?"

"Yes. Enchant?"

Then, her armor was enveloped by the twinkling bright glow result by Irene's enchantment. It was supposed to withstand any flames and special attacks from any dragon, with additional protection and a special ability to burn the wearer's enemy if it touches it.

"Ready?"

Irene felt a stab on her heart, this felt so good and so bad at the same time. She's fighting with her _daughter._

"Ready as I'll ever be."

And the two redheads nod simultaneously, the fight has truly began.

The high enchantress stood her ground. Her closed eyelids suddenly emitting golden light beneath it, and a _**Magic Siercle**_ suddenly appeared beneath her. And then three colors, turquoise blue, gold, and light violet, turned into fibre-shapes surrounding the Spriggan.

And as Erza felt the familiar burst of magic surging to her veins, to her armor and to the Asthania, she knew. And she's ready to attack.

Erza kicked the ground as she dived towards the flying dragon. Her thick, braided scarlet hair bounces on her back as she was caught by surprise when she felt _wings_ on her back, making balancing and levitating in the air much easier. Inwardly thanking the high enchantress, she then swooped in and sliced the dragon's torso.

Feeling a rush of exhilaration, Erza then did a backflip as the dragon tried to capture her. She then summoned some of her swords, she was surprised once again when she felt the Heir's magic power on them. However, she continued to attack the dragon.

Stealing a glance back to her mother, she observed that the lights surrounding her were causing her skin to... sparkle. Inwardly, she face palmed at her description. But nonetheless, they really look like they sparkle, and she looks.. younger? But as she looked on Irene's still face, she was reminded how she needs to finish the battle quickly.

Getting back, she then sent waves of swords toward the dragon. Her iron-obsidian swords circling the dragon and then suddenly attacking it, producing a cloud of dust that confused and irritated it.

 _That's right_ , Erza began, _blinded by the dusts and you won't even see me delivering the last blows_. Her grin widened as she realized just how powerful Asthania is. With just even few attacks, the producement is already weakened.

Even though the Asthania is the very sword of the Articculus clan and therefore has critical effects on the producement, it still _is_ an exceptionally powerful sword. She wonder who the Heir is, she'd like to have a talk with them.

As her mind fixed upon the battle again, she didn't noticed how the beast's eyes were slowly focusing upon a redhead on the ground, nor did she noticed its movement, as she delivered blows after blows.

She didn't noticed the high enchantress nearly swaying on her feet as her shielding spell slowly disappears. She didn't noticed the way the other redhead's hands shook as her magic abruptly shifted due to the error in the system. She didn't noticed how the dragon's paw rose up in the air, as if planning to crush something with it. What she noticed were the the five figures, seven if you included the smaller ones, cautiously approaching the battlefield, with the high chance to see the redhead on the ground, and the chance that she'll have to explain what she's doing, and who she is to her. It was the only thing she noticed, and not the fact that the life of someone is endangered, because of the seven figures bearing the same mark as she does on her shoulder.

It was too late.

She noticed it too late.

That Irene is swaying on her feet, her shielding spell gone. The way her shoulders shook, and her hands out of control. Her head lolling back as exhaustion slowly taking over her body. And the way her lips formed for a silent scream as the glistening glow around her which has the color of those of the fibres were touched by the now noticeable surging light coming from the dragon's body.

Erza saw the dragon in the corner of her eyes, bleeding and weak yet determined to attack. She also saw her team mates, slowly nearing the place where the endangered redhead is.

 _Ten seconds for her to decide._

The Asthania shook along with her hands.

 _Nine seconds._

The dragon turned towards Irene.

 _Eight seconds._

She took a deep breath and held the Asthania tightly.

 _Seven seconds._

Her magic and the Heir's combined in the Asthania.

 _Six seconds._

Natsu yelled for her name.

 _Five seconds._

The air around her shifted as the cobalt wings dashed past her.

 _Four seconds._

She looked to her team mates and saw that with just one look to their left, they would see her.

 _Three seconds._

The dragon's paw swiped down to Irene.

 _Two seconds._

Her hands threw the Asthania, it zoomed, and zoomed.

 _One second._

An agonized roar was heard as the blinding light exploded from where the dragon landed.

 _I'm sorry._

She shut her eyes and flew to her right.

* * *

The requip mage ran towards her team mates, she could feel the vibrancy of the world coming back from the light on her back. She leaped towards them and pushed them away from the dragon's body.

It wasn't until she regained her breathing that she noticed the terrifying thing. She started as she tumbled back as Wendy's frozen body met her. It's the same for the other's.

"What the hell-!" Erza heaved as she her body shook, and then felt the temperature dropped.

 _I-Irene!_ She turned around to run towards the fallen redhead.

 _No_. Her body wracked with silent sobs as she saw Irene's figure, laying on the ground, far too rigid, far too still. _No, please.._

And then she felt something.

She turned her head and saw the whole world turned into something grotesque. Everything was worse than when the vibrancy was taken off. This time, everything was distorted.

But as she remembered her team mates' immobilized bodies, it clicked into her mind. And immediately, she felt his presence.

"Zeref." His name left her lips as she turned to find him, only to see that he's kneeling in front of her mother's body.

Erza hesitated for a moment but shook her head a little as she remembered that she could trust him with Irene. "Zeref.. I-She.. Is she going to be alright?"

The Dark Wizard frowned a little, "You went to your friends even you knew that the producement will likely cause her severe damage, and you didn't went to her until you realized the world was immobilized, and now you're asking if your mother is going to be alright? Humans really amaze me."

Clenching her jaw, she felt guiltier as the seconds passed. "I.. It was a huge mistake. I-I just.. It was just too conflicting to me, and the way I acted was-"

What she was trying to explain was cut off when they both witnessed the body between them started to convulse and a blood-curdling scream tore in the air, much to Erza's horror.

"Wh-What's happening to her?!" Her wide eyes searched for any explanation to the Spriggan Emperor, who frowned sadly.

"Ten hours." Zeref grimly stated, the two taking note of the flowing magic from the defeated being a feet behind them entered the Spriggan's body, "Ten hours, and your mother has to endure the Heir's unfortunate life."

The air around them turned cold, in which neither the two wizards took any notice, as they watched Irene Belserion's body convulse in agony; blood seeping out of her mouth, sweat covering her face, and tears falling to her chest as the grieving daughter tried to ease her mother's sufferings.

* * *

 **I wanted a name for the magic circle, so there's the Magic Siercle. I love how this ruined the final words for this.. rather emotional chapter.**


End file.
